Family and Friends
by CJBH
Summary: When a group of peasants find Arthur lying unconscious in Odin's territory, it is only their kindness that saves his life. But his presence there remains a mystery, particularly as he remembers nothing of how he got there - or who he is. Set between S3 and S4.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note

This was written over a year ago as a script, which I'm now turning into prose. At it's heart is an often used plot device, but, hey, it's a good one so why not? It may already have been used in one or more of the fan fictions, but as I'm quite new to all this, I haven't a clue if that's the case – so I do so with a clear conscience and any seeming plagiarism isn't! It's a bit of a gentler read than the other three I've done, focusing slightly more on characters than on action, although it does (hopefully) have quite a bit of humour as the story goes on and it certainly has a sting in the tail (or is that tale?). It's a bit of a slower burner again, but will definitely pick up when…. Well, wait and see. What I particularly like about this story is the fact that it allows for another bit of the legend – which couldn't be used in its usual way in the series because of how "Merlin" was imagined – to be integrated into the flow of stories told in the TV show. Hopefully it should sit between S3 and S4 without anything – much - being changed.

Chapter 1

The horse and cart bumped along the track at a relatively slow pace, given the uneven nature of the surface over which the wheels were going. The three men in the cart, however, were in no particular hurry and were all in good spirits. The time in the neighbouring town of Berlund had been profitable enough for the villagers: grain had been sold, provisions had been purchased, and there had been enough proceeds from the sale to allow a trip to the local tavern with a relatively clear conscience for the three friends. And the result of all this was that they were chatting and laughing together with glad hearts as the light of the day began to fade and as the cart made its slow progress towards their own small village of Esentor. The two men in the back, Edric and Alain, suddenly looked up at the driver, as he slowed the cart with a puzzled look on his face. It was clear that there was something lying on the track, obstructing their path.

"What is it, Thomas?" asked the slightly older of the two men.

It was just as Edric was asking this question that the nature of the obstruction became clear to Thomas, and he stopped the cart abruptly and said simply as he rose rapidly to his feet, "It's a body."

The three men were on the track in a matter of seconds and hurried over to where the motionless body was lying face down in the dirt, and it was Edric who got down on his knees beside the figure.

Alain was the first to speak, "Is he dead?"

Edric gently and carefully rolled the body over, and they found themselves staring down at a young man, probably in his mid-twenties – unconscious, but quite clearly still alive. "He's breathing, certainly."

They all looked intently at him in the failing light – he was dressed simply in a white tunic, belted around his waist, with plain brown trousers and boots. Thomas was the next to speak, "Any signs of injury?"

Edric cast his eyes over the young man – no blood, no bruises, nothing that made it look like he was doing anything other than sleeping, "None that I can see."

Alain, who by this time had also joined Edric kneeling beside him, offered one explanation. "Maybe he was thrown by a horse."

"Robbers more likely – he doesn't seem to have anything on him."

Thomas followed Edric's comment with the obvious question, "So what are we going to do with him?"

As they pondered the question and scrutinised the young man once again, what they did not know was that they were looking down into the unconscious face of Arthur Pendragon. Even in his father's kingdom, Arthur's face was not known to huge numbers beyond the walls of Camelot, and many of the kingdom's subjects had never set eyes on him and only knew of his name. And beyond the borders of Camelot, the numbers who knew his face were much smaller, and generally restricted to relatively small numbers of those who lived in the main cities of some of the neighbouring kingdoms. Although his name was known to many, few had seen him for themselves, and there was nothing about his appearance or dress that gave his true identity away. Had they looked closer they might have seen that the cloth of the tunic was of a finer weave than they usually saw, and that the leather of his boots was slightly softer than any in their village, but these small signs were lost in the fading light.

It didn't take Edric long to come to a decision. "We certainly can't leave him here – but he could have come from any number of villages around here, and the day is late. We'll take him back to Esentor – we can give him a bed for the night, and when he comes round he'll be able to tell us himself where he's from. Here, give me a hand with him." And with that the three men lifted Arthur's unconscious form into the back of their cart.

Edric's house was a simple one, and similar to virtually every other dwelling in the village. It was sparsely furnished and was essentially one large room, with one end curtained off as the bedroom space for Edric and his wife, Helma. Helma was sitting near the fire, cradling their daughter, Tilly - who hadn't yet seen four complete years pass - on her lap. The only other person there was a young man who was fiddling with the binding around an axe-head. Kay was in his twentieth year, and although he had been given the option of joining the others on the trip to Berlund that day, he had decided instead to stay with his mother and sister – there was still work to be done in the fields, after all, and if truth were told, the conversation of the older men wasn't always of particular interest to the young man – although had he known that a trip to the tavern was going to be a feature of the day (not to mention the unusual discovery on the journey home) he would undoubtedly have come to a different decision that day.

All three in the room heard the sudden commotion outside the door, and Helma and Kay were both on their feet the moment the door was flung open. Edric and the other two men were struggling slightly to get themselves and the body they were bearing through the narrow door.

Edric looked up and looked over to his son: "Kay – quickly, give us a hand!"

Kay's extra pair of young and strong hands eased the burden considerably, but Helma, with her mother's heart, was already looking with concern upon the body they were carrying. "What's going on?"

Edric's speech was somewhat laboured from the exertion of carrying Arthur as he answered his wife: "We found him unconscious between here and Berlund." He looked at the others helping him, "We'll put him on the bed."

Helma quickly drew back the curtain that separated their sleeping area from the rest of the room, and the men lay Arthur, still not conscious, on the bed.

Edric turned to his two companions. "We'll look after him until he wakes. I let you know what happens."

With that, Alain and Thomas nodded and left the small house to return to their own families, and as the door closed behind them, Helma went over to the bed and sat on the edge of it, looking over Arthur anxiously. "Is he hurt?"

"There's nothing obvious – maybe an injury to the head, but who knows?"

Kay, however, was eyeing Arthur with a certain degree of suspicion. "More to the point, is he safe?"

His father turned his attention momentarily from Arthur to his son, "Well he hasn't got any weapons on him, if that's what you mean."

But any further conversation came to an abrupt halt at that moment, as Arthur finally began to stir. Even Tilly had come slightly closer to the bed by this time, looking curiously and slightly apprehensively at the stranger who had been brought into her house completely out of the blue. She didn't feel ready to come to the bed itself, and stood a little way off as the family waited for their "guest" to regain consciousness.

When Arthur opened his eyes, he was greeted with faces and sights that were utterly unfamiliar to him, and he rapidly pulled himself up into a sitting position on the bed, but backed himself away from them all as he did so. He found himself completely disoriented and overwhelmed with a sense of confusion, and his eyes darted around the room, trying to make sense of where he was. He was breathing rapidly and the look of fear on his face was clear to each of the others.

"Where am I?"

Edric spoke quickly and quietly to reassure him. "You needn't be afraid. You're in Esentor – we found you unconscious out on the road. I'm Edric and this is my wife Helma and son Kay. We mean you no harm – you're safe here. What's your name?"

Arthur looked around at all their faces again, still disoriented, and paused and looked down. His brow furrowed and several moments passed. When he finally looked up at them all again, there was the same look of fear still on his face but it was mixed with a look of total bewilderment, as he uttered just six more words. "I don't know. I can't remember."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note**_

_**Chapter 2 – finally – after getting distracted by writing "The End of the Beginning" in its entirety (speaking of which, having read last night another fic that was posted before it, I discovered there were some striking similarities between it and "The End of the Beginning"! No plagiarism, honest!). Anyway, hopefully this chapter will be followed fairly soon by others, as I attempt to turn 35 scenes from the script I wrote into what will be a smaller number of chapters of prose.**_

Chapter 2

Arthur sat at the table, a bowl of steaming soup in front of him and a chunk of bread in his hand. Although his stomach told him he was hungry, the inner turmoil he was going through seemed to render the food tasteless and every mouthful gave him no pleasure. Even though he kept his attention focused on the bowl, he was nevertheless acutely aware that the attention of each of the other adults – standing as far away from him as they could in the small room - was fixed on him, and although they were speaking in low tones that he couldn't hear, he knew what they were discussing – what to do about _him_.

The previous quarter of an hour had been a fruitless one. Every question they had asked resulted in basically the same answer: _I don't know _or _I can't remember_. Eventually he had taken to simply staring at the table and shaking his head to vary his response. And when Helma had at last asked him a question he could answer, _Are you hungry?,_ he was glad to finally be able to look up and give a nod of his head.

Arthur glanced up nervously from his food. His eyes met those of Tilly. She was standing with the adults, not saying anything, but watching him with great curiosity. But immediately their eyes met, she looked away and pressed closer to her mother. Arthur looked at the others, and took the one shed of comfort that he could - the kindness that he had already experienced from Helma and Edric, and the concern for him that was so clearly in their expressions and the tones of their voices.

Edric, still keeping his voice low, summarised the only thing they could at that point. "He can't tell us where he comes from, his age, his family, his trade, where he was going or what's happened to him. His memory of anything of his life seems to have gone."

Helma, aware that Arthur had finally looked up at them again, turned her gaze back to her husband as she spoke. "Maybe it was a blow to the head, then, or a sickness has left him confused."

"And yet he says he feels no pain and he's certainly not running a fever."

Helma let out a small sigh. "Well, he's in no fit state to go anywhere at the moment."

Kay's eyes however, were not filled with the same care as that of his parents. "So must he stay here? We don't know anything about him. He could be lying."

Helma appealed to her son. "Look at him, Kay! Everything about him says that he's feeling utterly lost. And besides, what do we have that anyone would want to take?" She then paused before speaking more gently to Kay again. "Wouldn't you want someone to show you kindness if you were in his position?"

Edric also turned to look at him. "Your mother's right, Kay. He should stay with us until we can find out where his home is. And maybe his memory will return after a good night's sleep."

When Kay replied there was a sullenness in his voice that he didn't even attempt to disguise. "Well, I still don't see why it has to be us," and finding an excuse to leave he added, "I'm going to get some more firewood."

Kay made no secret of his mood, and as Arthur glanced up at the young man as he headed for the door, their eyes met briefly, and there was a hostility in Kay's eyes that wasn't lost on Arthur.

When the door closed behind their son with more force than was necessary, Edric and Helma went over to Arthur and joined him sitting at the table, with Arthur at one side and husband and wife facing each other on the adjoining sides. Arthur continued to stare down at the table, struggling to cope with the waves of utter bewilderment and isolation that kept coming over him.

When Edric spoke, his tone was firm but kindly. "You must stay with us for the time being. You don't know this land, you haven't any money, and it will dangerous for you to be out there on your own. We haven't much that we can offer you, but it will be food and a roof over your head. Most likely your family will come looking for you – you're sure to be missed, wherever your home is."

Arthur glanced up at them briefly. "Thank you. That's kind of you," but his gaze immediately returned to the table again.

Helma's heart went out to the young man who was so obviously in turmoil, and she laid a hand gently on his arm. "In the meantime, we must call you something. Have you any name that you would like us to use?"

Without looking up at Helma, Arthur silently shook his head again.

Helma paused for moment. "How about William then?"

Still looking at the table, Arthur gave a slight shrug of his shoulders and then a small nod.

Helma allowed a small smile to come to her face, though Arthur didn't see it. "William it is, then. Now, I need to go and draw some water – Tilly, why don't you come with me?"

Tilly, still looking at Arthur with curiosity, went over and took Helma's hand. Arthur briefly looked up and once more his eyes met Tilly's. Although she quickly looked away again, she stole a glance back at him as she and Helma went out through the door.

Edric slipped out quickly after Helma, and spoke quietly to her so that Tilly was oblivious of their conversation. He raised his eyebrows at his wife, and there was a knowing smile on his face. "_William?_ Don't think I don't remember….!"

Helma feigned innocence: "What?"

Still with the same smile on his face, her husband replied, "You know perfectly well! That _William_ was the name you wanted to give to Owain."

Helma replied defensively, "It was a good name then, and it is still a good name!"

"I'm not saying it isn't!" and they looked at each other, both with little smiles on their faces.

_~~~~~ O ~~~~~_

The small fire in the grate was burning brightly as they all sat by the hearth, although Kay had chosen to set his chair slightly back from those of the others. Tilly lay sleeping in her mother's arms, as Edric and Helma did all that they could to fill Arthur in on the situation he now found himself in.

"We are in Odin's country here. Does the name Odin mean anything to you?" Arthur shook his head in response to Edric's question.

Helma continued, "Not that being part of Odin's kingdom means much to us….. or to him. We're a small village far from his castle."

"He largely ignores us, except, of course, when it's time to collect the taxes. He collects our money but we see nothing in return. Odin's men are not welcomed with open arms in this part of the country."

"And there are other realms beyond Odin's kingdom?" Kay gave a small snort of disdain at the ignorance embodied in Arthur's question, but his parents ignored this and Edric made sure that his answer was matter of fact and devoid of any condescension. "There are a number of kings, most of them not favourably disposed towards Odin. Alined, Uther, Bayard, Olaf and Rodor are in a loose alliance."

Arthur's expression still registered no recognition, so Edric continued_. "_Uther was responsible for drawing the alliance together – he may have a reputation for being a tyrant, but he is shrewd."

Arthur was in no state to register any more new names, and so decided to ask about what seemed to be of more immediate relevance to him. "And what of this village – do many live here?"

Helma smiled warmly at the young man. "No we are a small but close community – there are a dozen or so families, and we farm the surrounding land."

"And your family – it's just the four of you?"

There was a small but significant pause which made Arthur look more closely at their faces, trying to discern the cause of it. It was Edric who finally answered in a quiet voice. "Kay had an older brother, Owain, but we lost him to a fever 4 winters back….."

Arthur's response to the people who had shown him kindness was a genuine one: "I'm sorry."

But Helma's sad expression then transformed into a sudden smile, "But then, against all hope or expectation, we were blessed within the year with Tilda," - she looked down happily at the daughter sleeping in her lap – "our Tilly – and she has been the sunshine in our lives ever since….. And it is far beyond her bedtime…." And with that, Helma rose to her feet, gathering Tilly up into her arms as she did so.

Edric also rose. "I think we would all do well to turn in." He turned to Arthur. _"_Kay and Tilly sleep on straw mattresses in this room. You can join them here, William – we have spare bedding that you can use."

"Thank you," but then Arthur's gaze immediately returned to the floor again.

Helma's heart once again went out to him, and she echoed her husband's earlier words. "Maybe things will start to come back to you after a night's sleep."

Arthur continued to focus on one particular piece of straw that was lying on the dirt floor, but gave a little nod. The couple looked at each other, with looks of concern on their faces, as they sensed the deep sadness that hung over the stranger in their midst.

Edric tried his best to give him something to hold on to. "And in the meantime, you can help Kay out in the fields. There is plenty of work to be done at this time of year, and we could use an extra pair of hands."

Arthur nodded, again without looking up. But it was fortunate that his gaze was still on the ground, because, had he looked up, he would have seen the undisguised expression of displeasure on Kay's face.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's note**_

_**I think the story works best if it sticks with Arthur's POV, without any knowledge – yet! - of what is going on elsewhere. By the way, I updated the story in the last chapter with the name of Rodor from 5.04. I'm not entirely clear (unless someone can enlighten me) which kingdoms are meant to be included in "the 5 kingdoms". (The only other kings named – I think – in "Sweet Dreams" are Alined and Olaf)**_

Chapter 3

Arthur hadn't slept well. He had laid awake for hours, trawling through his mind, turning over and over in his thoughts some of the names he'd been told by Edric and Helma, but every time it resulted in the same thing – nothing, a blank sheet. He did eventually, with a weary mind and a troubled heart, drop off to sleep, only to be rudely awoken by a small shake, what felt like only an hour or so later. He jolted awake almost immediately, and once again had the same sense of utter disorientation that he'd had the previous evening, although this time there was at least a not totally unfamiliar face looking at him, even if it was Kay's scowling one.

He followed the pattern of the others as they got up, dressed and washed, and soon found himself facing the kind but concerned face of Helma. "How are you feeling this morning, William?"

Arthur immediately understood the unspoken question behind it: _what do you remember?_

He shrugged his shoulders, and came up with the answer that perfectly answered both questions: "The same as last night," and then hurriedly added with a half-hearted attempt at a smile, "thank you."

Breakfast was a simple affair, and Arthur simply listened to the conversation of the others: a small amount of news from the village, the tasks for that day, and the weather, the latter never being a trivial matter in the farming community. It soon became clear that, as far as Arthur and Kay were concerned, the day was going to involve ploughing one of the village fields that lay not too far away, with the same horse that had pulled the cart back from Berlund.

The conversation as the two of them walked over to the field was almost non-existent. Kay led the horse, leaving Arthur to follow behind carrying the harness. Kay was once again making no attempt to disguise his hostility and so Arthur felt no great desire to catch up and walk alongside him, and simply contented himself with walking a couple of paces behind, focusing his attention on taking in the lie of the land around them. It was typically rural, with its mixture of small woods and fields, with hills behind them, and a nearby line of trees that curved along near the base of the hills seemed to indicate the presence of an unseen river. Before long, they had reached their destination – a small, slightly sloping area covered with a mixture of weeds and the remains of the previous crop. A plough was already lying near the edge of the field. Arthur took his lead from Kay and stopped and waited, unsure of what he was meant to do next. Kay turned and took the harness from him, and without a word, proceeded to slip it over the horse, make the necessary adjustments and couple it to the plough, as Arthur looked on.

Kay had already decided that if he was the one leading the horse out in front, then at least he wouldn't have to look at the stranger who had invaded their house and their family. His instructions to Arthur were kept as short as possible: "I'll lead the horse – you can man the plough. Make sure the furrow is good and deep," and with that he turned his back on Arthur and went to begin pulling on the horse's collar to guide it in the right direction. A glance back at Arthur, however, revealed that all was not well. What Kay saw was Arthur viewing the plough with bewilderment. The fact of the matter was that he didn't have a clue what he was meant to do with it. Although he didn't know it, it was the closest to the farming implement that he'd even been in his life, and although in the past that he didn't remember, he'd seen one being used from afar, he'd never actually touched, let alone handled, a plough. He looked up at Kay with a pained look on his face. His utter inability to know what to do when faced with the – supposedly simple - task in hand seemed to magnify ten-fold the sense of alienation that he felt. And Kay wasn't in any mood to show either understanding or sensitivity. There was a look of incredulity on his face that wasn't lost on Arthur. "You're not telling me you don't know how to use a plough, surely?"

The tone in Kay's voice did nothing to alleviate Arthur's sense of shame and all he could find to say in reply was "I'm sorry…"

Kay chose to deliberately look Arthur in the eye as he said, "Any idiot knows how to plough!"

And with that he left the horse, and went over to the plough, giving Arthur another stare as he walked by. "You lead the horse then – you do know how to walk in a straight line, don't you?"

He pointed to a solitary oak at the edge of the field. "You're heading for that tree. And don't go too fast or the furrow won't be deep enough."

Arthur took hold of the horse's collar, and gave its nose a little rub before he started to lead it. He looked up at the tree and gee-ed the horse into motion as he started towards it. He felt a strange consolation being with the animal, and he and Kay continued their respective tasks in silence.

It was Kay who eventually spoke. "It's not easy around here….. Times are hard. Odin's men take more than their fair share of our labours." Kay adjusted the angle of the plough slightly before continuing. "There's never much food to spare in our village. We have enough trouble feeding the mouths that are already here." A few moments of silence passed between them, before Arthur looked around to say something to Kay, but before he could speak, he found himself being rebuked again by the younger man. "Just keep looking where you're going…"

Arthur turned back to look ahead, but raised his voice so that Kay could hear him. "I'm sorry, I don't wish to be a burden on you and your family."

Kay didn't reply, but kept looking at Arthur with a hostile expression on his face, eventually saying sharply, "The horse is veering to the left. Keep it straight."

And that was virtually the sum total of their conversation during that day.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

It was with a certain amount of relief that Arthur finally arrived back at the small house, as the sun dropped low in the sky. The two men had returned to the village via some traps that Kay had set the day before, and his efforts had not been in vain, yielding a brace of rabbits. Although Arthur had seen Helma and Tilly not far from the house, he felt under an obligation to go inside with Kay, however much he would have preferred the company of the former.

The two young men's eyes met briefly. "Well you may as well help with supper. Here, take this and skin it for me." With that, Kay handed Arthur one of the dead rabbits. Again, unbeknown to him, he had always had others to do that particular unsavoury task for him, so for the second time in the day he stood looking at something he didn't have a clue what to do with, with a look of bewilderment on his face, and also for the second time, gave the same response: "I'm sorry…"

Kay grabbed the rabbit back from Arthur, and when he spoke there was contempt in his voice. "Well, you might as well just go outside and wait for supper to arrive then!"

Arthur hesitated, but then decided to do as Kay suggested, and went out into the fading daylight, glad at least to be finally free of Kay's brooding company and he sat himself down, dejected, against a tree on the other side of the open space that lay immediately outside the door.

When Helma walked in through the door shortly afterwards, she found her son attacking the rabbit with more force than was required for the job. She looked at him enquiringly. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Kay. How did you get on with William today?"

But the look on his face gave her the answer before he'd said a single word in reply. When he did speak, he let all his disdain for Arthur finally spill out.

"Apart from him being useless, he was fine! What sort of person doesn't know how to use a plough or skin a rabbit?!"

Helma's reply was softly spoken. "Maybe that's just part of what he's forgotten."

"Well, he knows well enough how to use a spoon and knife at the table!"

Helma ignored Kay's remark. "And did you teach him how to use the plough properly then?"

Kay continued skinning the rabbit in a sullen silence.

"Kay, this isn't like you! What's got into you?"

Kay didn't answer but avoided her gaze as he kept his attention focused on what would become that evening's supper. When Helma spoke again, it was with a greater gentleness as she appealed to her son. "Kay – you are a good lad. Try to think how William must feel at the moment. Everything – absolutely everything - is strange to him, and for the moment, we are the only people in the world that he knows. Tomorrow, I would like you to show him the kindness that I know you are capable of. If he doesn't know how to do something, then show him, without making him feel any more wretched than he already does. Will you do that for me?"

Kay neither replied nor looked up.

His mother tried again. "Kay?"

He finally nodded, which prompted a smile from his mother. "Thank you," and with that, Helma patted him on the shoulder and went out again where she found Tilly playing with an improvised toy outside the door. She lifted Tilly into her arms, and they both looked at Arthur, who was sitting looking away from the house and the village, but the way that his head and shoulders were hanging low told Helma all she needed to know about how their guest was feeling.

The truth was that he was battling a crushing sense of isolation. He'd never felt so desolate in his life, although, of course, he didn't know that as he was unaware of anything of his past. It felt to him as if he were sinking down without a foothold, desperately reaching out for something solid to cling to, but finding nothing. If he'd been his old self, he would have had the courage to rally or Merlin to help pick him up. But in this strange place and in the strange life he was living, he had neither of those things. He didn't know what he was meant to be living for. He didn't know whether his life had any meaning or purpose – or whether there was anyone in the world who cared that he was alive. And with his head hung low, he didn't see the mother and daughter watching him in silence not so very far away.

Tilly, nestling in her mother's arms, looked at him with curiosity. "Why is William sitting on his own?"

"I think he's feeling very sad, Tilly."

Tilly looked up into her mother's eyes, confusion in her own. "Why is William sad?"

"I think he's probably feeling very alone."

"But he's got us." That simple statement was, for the small child, a sufficient solution to the problem.

Her mother smiled down at her. "Yes he has, Tilly dearest, and we must help him to be happy again."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Arthur woke the following morning, both the house and the village outside were still quiet. Once more he had lain awake that night, with troubled thoughts, after everyone else in the house had fallen asleep – and as he'd lain there, he'd come to a decision. And so when he woke not too long after dawn, Arthur quickly rolled out from under the thin blanket, and noiselessly rose to his feet and dressed, whilst Kay and Tilly still lay fast asleep nearby. He hesitated, but then took one last look around the small room and the curtained off area at the end, opened the door as quietly as he could - just wide enough for him to slip out through - and he backed out through the gap, keeping his eyes on those inside to check that they remained undisturbed. He then silently closed the door, and finally turned to face the early morning light - only to find himself also facing Edric who was walking towards him, only feet away.

Edric raised his eyebrows. "It's a little early to be going for a walk, isn't it?"

Arthur didn't reply, but instead fixed his gaze on the ground to avoid having to make eye contact with the older man. When Edric spoke again, his tone was gentle and kind. "Come and sit with me over here for a while," indicating to a log not far from the door. Arthur went with Edric and sat down, still avoiding the other man's eyes. Edric paused a moment before turning to Arthur: "And where were you going so early in the morning? – and don't even think of trying to lie to me."

Arthur replied without looking up, "I was leaving…"

"What, without even a blanket or any food?"

"They weren't mine to take."

Edric found himself impressed by the young man's sense of right and wrong, and his resolve not to compromise that even when it would be to his cost. Much as he loved his own son, he thought with a smile that he wasn't sure that Kay would have stuck to his principles if it meant going hungry. Either way, this stranger had just proved that Kay's misgivings were without foundation. Whatever his upbringing was, it was a good one.

Edric kept his gaze upon Arthur, even though the latter was still staring intently at the dirt near their feet.

"And where were you going to go?"

Arthur was silent - he had no answer to give. But after a little pause, he said by way of justification, "You have so little here. I will not be an extra burden to you."

Edric sighed. "We are not so poor that we haven't enough to share with a person in need. What sort of people would we be if we didn't open our home to someone who has been left with nothing? And we do so gladly, William."

Arthur finally glanced briefly up at him, and before he returned his gaze to the ground, he discovered that Edric was smiling at him.

Several moments of silence passed between them, as Edric thought carefully about how to proceed, and when he spoke again, his words were softly spoken and his eyes were looking away from Arthur and into the early morning mist, through which the light of the sun was filtering. "I cannot imagine what it must be like to not know anything of who you are or where you come from, and to have lost the memory of every single person you have ever known. If it were me, I think I would feel very bewildered and terribly alone." Arthur shifted slightly on the log. "William, I want you to know that you are welcome to stay with us – indeed you must stay with us - for as long as you need. I know that Kay has been giving you a hard time, but he'll come round. He still misses his brother terribly, and I think your presence here is a fresh reminder of Owain to him, and maybe he's been taking his anger at losing Owain out on you. But I know my son, and he won't stay like that for long. Now, give me your word, William, that you will not try to leave like that again?"

Arthur finally looked up and, with a slight smile on his face, he nodded.

Edric laid his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Good. Now, Helma will soon be up, and she'll get us both some breakfast. And at least we possibly know one thing about you now…"

Arthur looked at him with a slightly puzzled look on his face. "You're not used to living in a village, otherwise you would have realised you'd have to have left a lot earlier to be sure of no one else being up!"

And with that they both smiled as they rose to their feet and headed back inside for an early breakfast.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

The second day of ploughing had a very different feel to it for both the young men. Kay was true to his promise to his mother, and began to make an effort with Arthur, starting with explaining to him the basics of how to use a plough. He guided Arthur through how to hold it and direct it, so that it made a deep and straight furrow. Having explained the technique, he then demonstrated it and finally made Arthur attempt to use it himself. And Kay found that he actually felt good about helping someone who knew less than himself (not least because it made _him_ feel quite skilled and knowledgeable) and when he laughed at Arthur's first efforts, the laughter was good-natured rather than mocking. They swapped roles from the previous day, and Kay started leading the horse, but continued to glance back at Arthur to give instructions where needed, although this became much less often as the morning went on.

Kay, like his father, couldn't help being impressed by the stranger, with his willingness to work hard and his easy manner. He had picked up ploughing quickly, unlike Kay's experience of learning the techniques some years before. The fact was that there was no one else his age in the village and, despite all his initial hostility - and almost against his wishes, Kay was finding that he was beginning to like the young man the more he saw of him – it was almost impossible not to.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

After the day's work was done, Arthur again found himself sitting under the tree. Although the day hadn't been as difficult as the previous one, it had still left him with plenty of opportunity to brood on his predicament, and the feelings of bewilderment and loneliness were never too far away.

Tilly stood next to her mother holding some pegs, as Helma took down some washing from the line that was strung between two trees near their house, her young eyes studying their visitor once again.

"Is William still sad?"

Helma stopped what she was doing and looked over towards Arthur. "Yes, dear, I think he is." But then an idea came to Helma, and she crouched down to look Tilly in the eyes. "I think it would be a lovely idea if you went over and cheered William up. Do you think you could do that for me?"

Tilly nodded solemnly and, without a further word, put her pegs into the basket, and made her way over to where Arthur was sitting. He looked up and gave her a slightly weary smile. This was, however, enough to make her beam back to him and his own smile broadened slightly.

"Don't be sad, William. You can play with me."

And with that, she held her hand out to Arthur, who took it, and she then pulled at him so that he got to his feet, although he then immediately crouched down to talk to her. "So what are we going to do?"

"Kay sometimes plays monsters with me."

And for the first time since he'd arrived in the village, Arthur found himself being amused and a little wry smile came to his face. "I'm not sure I know how to play that. Can you tell me?"

Tilly just giggled. "You pretend to be a monster, and you chase me and try to catch me."

Arthur's smile was replaced by a slightly mischievous look. "What, like this?" and he pulled a face at her, causing her to scream with delight and start running from him. Arthur chased her, but let her run for a while before grabbing her and swinging her up in the air, resulting in more screams of delight. He put her down and the whole process started again. He was about to discover the insatiable appetite of a young child for playing the same game over and over again – but he found he didn't mind. After all, Tilly didn't demand anything of him, except his attention. And there were no difficult questions in her eyes.

Helma stood watching them, smiling, and it took her a couple of moments to realise that Kay had come to stand next to her, also watching Arthur, who was oblivious to their attention.

Helma broke off from following the game to look at her son: "And was William's ploughing any better today?"

"Well, he didn't make a total hash of it….. "

Helma looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows, causing him to relent. "Alright, he handled it well. He's certainly strong, and whatever his trade is, he has a good eye and his hands have skill."

Helma smiled warmly at him. "Thank you for giving him a second chance, Kay."

Kay also smiled as he watched his little sister: "He does well with Tilly too."

They both watched as Arthur swung Tilly around, to more happy screams.

A sudden thought came to Helma. "Why don't you both take a walk over to the tavern in Berlund tonight – I'm sure we can spare the coins for both of you to have a drink – and who knows, maybe someone will recognise him there. It's a full moon and the sky is clear – it will be an easy walk across the fields."

Kay nodded to his mother, and then went over to Arthur and Tilly, and started chasing after Tilly himself. And to a young girl who hadn't quite reached her fourth birthday, the experience of now having two older playmates made her almost happier than she'd ever been in her young life.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

As Arthur and Kay cut across the fields that evening, Arthur looked with interest at the new landscape around him, as Kay told him all he knew of that part of the country – its geography, its customs and some of its stories. Arthur listened with interest and the time passed quickly, and before long, they found themselves at their destination. There was a general hub-bub in the simple but friendly tavern, and no-one paid any particular attention to them as they walked in. Right from the outset it was clear that, despite Helma's hopes, no one recognised Kay's new companion. They found a small, unoccupied table and Arthur noticed, with interest, the fact that Kay seemed slightly flustered as the barmaid came to take their order. She seemed a likeable enough young woman, and leaned both her arms down on the table as she spoke to them. "And what can I get you tonight, lads?"

Kay put the coins in her hand. "Two tankards of whatever this will get us, please," and with that she smiled and walked away. Kay watched her return to the bar, and they then sat in a slightly awkward silence and it was Arthur who eventually spoke.

"Thank you… for helping me today." A little smile came to his face as he acknowledged what he knew to be true. "I must seem like an idiot to you."

"Well, yeah…," but Kay was smiling. "….. but only at first. You didn't do badly with the plough today."

"Thank you," and Arthur looked genuinely grateful. He then continued, "Have your family always farmed?"

"As far as I know. We've been in Esentor for several generations now. I've grown up with ploughs and horses and crops and chickens."

Arthur studied the young man sitting across from him. "Do you enjoy it?"

Kay shrugged his shoulders. "It can seem a little quiet at times. We don't get too much excitement around here. To be honest, you're the most interesting thing that's happened in months!"

Arthur smiled. "Well, it's nice to know I'm of some use!"

The conversation was interrupted as the barmaid returned with the pewter tankards of cheap ale.

"There you go lads, don't drink it all at once!" and as she walked away, Kay watched her and said more to himself than anyone, "Not much chance of that. This has got to last us the evening!"

They both took a swig of their drinks, and there was another pause after they put the tankards back on the table. As Arthur cast his gaze around the tavern, Kay looked at him with curiosity. "What's it like?" Arthur turned back to him as he explained his question, "I mean, not to remember anything of your life?"

Arthur paused to think, then sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he tried to find the right words to describe the experience. "It's as if my life only started two evenings ago, as if I was suddenly put on this earth fully formed as you see me now. And I don't understand any of it – nothing seems to make any sense. I don't understand how my feet know how to walk but I can't remember where they've been. How is it I can remember what to do with a horse, but not what to do with a plough? I know the names of birds and trees, but why is it that I cannot remember people or places? I know that Thomas and Kay are men's names but I can't link those names or any other name with a single person in my memory. And when it comes to place names, not one single place that you or Edric or Helma have told me of, land or town, means anything to me. It feels as if some sort of slate in my mind has been wiped completely clean – and I don't know how or why."

And Kay finally began to feel sympathy for what Arthur was going through, but any deeper feelings of compassion were prevented by an intriguing question suddenly coming to his mind. "So you don't even know if there's anyone special for you out there?"

Arthur paused. "You mean a girl?" He smiled back at Kay as he shrugged his shoulders again. "Who knows?"

Kay grinned back at him. "I mean, you're not altogether ugly. You might stand a chance! You might even already have a wife!"

Arthur raised his eyebrows and was thoughtful for a moment. "It's quite a thought, isn't it? That there may be someone out there who knows everything about me, but who I don't even know exists." He then looked back at Kay with a little grin, "And what about you? Are there any girls in these parts who've caught your eye?"

"Well, there's always Edina – she's the one over at the bar who brought us our drinks."

This immediately explained in Arthur's mind Kay's earlier reactions and, as Kay went on, both of them continued looking at her as she busied herself around the bar. "There are probably any number of us who would like to get to know her more, but there's a local thug by the name of Herrick who thinks he owns her – though to be honest, I don't think she's too fond of him! But you'd be a fool to cross Herrick – we'll if you value keeping your face in one piece!"

With their attention on Edina, neither of them had noticed the three men who had come up behind them, and a voice suddenly cut in on them. "And who are you calling a thug?"

Arthur could see the look of foreboding on Kay's face as he turned round to face Herrick. Arthur's immediate impression was that the word "thug" may have been too generous a description on Kay's part, and that impression was in no way altered by Herrick's next words. "Been staring at my girl, have you?"

The colour in Kay's face had, by this time, all but drained away: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I don't want to cause any trouble…."

Herrick, who had already had a fair amount to drink, snarled back at the young man, "Well, it's a bit late for that now, isn't it?"

And with that, Herrick aimed a punch at Kay, but before he could think what he was doing, Arthur found himself instinctively rising to his feet, grabbing Herrick's wrist and swiftly twisting it behind his back and whacking Herrick with the full force of his arm and fist, so that Herrick slumped unconscious over the table, knocking one of the tankards to the ground. Arthur then found himself being grabbed from behind by Herrick's equally thuggish companions, but several quick twists, elbows and punches later, Arthur had similarly swiftly dispatched them, with a ruthless efficiency.

Kay stood in shock, staring with incredulity at Arthur, and as Arthur looked around him, slightly bemused, there was utter silence in the tavern and, much to his consternation, he found that the eyes of every single person were fixed on him. The silence lasted for a couple of moments before the whole tavern erupted into cheering, at the sight of the local bullies having been put in their place. Kay broke into an amazed smile and clapped Arthur on the shoulder, and as the cheering continued, Edina walked over to them with a broad smile on her face. "All your drinks are on the house tonight lads!" and looking down at the unconscious thugs she added, "I'm sure everyone will give you a hand clearing up the mess!"

And so began a long and enjoyable evening in the tavern for Arthur and Kay. Kay's admiration for Arthur had suddenly dramatically increased, and the experience had also resulted in them firmly being put together on the same side. Their conversation flowed fairly easily after that point, although Arthur had nothing substantial to add to their talk except questions – without his memory, he had no stories to tell, no experiences to share, no opinions to air. But he found himself growing to like his companion who, it turned out, had a quick wit and lively imagination and a sense of fun that didn't often find a suitable outlet. Kay, for his part, enjoyed the opportunity to talk to someone roughly his own age, and although the conversation was somewhat one-sided, the fact that "William" knew pretty much nothing meant that Kay had plenty to entertain him with and a whole wealth of stories that, although already recounted locally many times, were totally new to his listener. And later, as the ale flowed, they began concocting between them ever more comical and implausible theories to explain Arthur's appearance two evenings earlier, although never coming anywhere remotely near the truth.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Helma looked at her husband, her face clearly showing the anxiety that she had been feeling for the previous two hours as the full moon climbed higher into the sky. "They should have been back long ago. They only had money for one drink each."

Edric, although trying to remain calm, shared her concern: "Maybe it's time that I went and raised Alain and Thomas. We can go together to look for them."

But any further discussion was brought to an abrupt halt by a sudden disturbance outside the door, which then suddenly burst open, as Arthur and Kay stumbled in. One of Kay's arms was draped around Arthur's neck, whilst Arthur had an arm around his torso, in an attempt to hold him up.

Kay twisted his head towards his new best friend, and he tried to whisper in a slurred voice, "Sssshhhhh – don't want to wake Tilly."

Helma's concern was no longer for their safety, but was now directed in a rather different direction: "What _on earth_ has been going on?"

Kay's attempt at an answer was again slurred and, despite his intention to be quiet, was triumphantly spoken in an overloud voice, "We've found something Will's good at, at last….. fighting!"

And with that, Kay's legs finally gave out and, dragging Arthur down with him, they both collapsed in a heap on the floor, with Edric and Helma looking on, their expressions a strange mixture of amazement, concern and utter bemusement.

_**Author's note**_

_**One more chapter before we finally link in with our other friends from Camelot…. Be patient!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Breakfast the following morning was a somewhat subdued affair. Edric had once again left not too long after dawn, and as Helma busied herself around the house, Arthur and Kay both sat in silence, bowls of porridge untouched, with Tilly sitting between them in blissful ignorance of their true state. The effects of too much cheap ale the previous evening were written all over their demeanours, and the word _grim _summed up perfectly how they both looked and felt. Arthur stirred his porridge slowly, staring at it but with no intention of actually eating it. Kay simply sat with his head in both hands, vowing never again to do this to himself. Tilly, however, seemed not to register any of this, because she was beaming and singing to herself, hitting her bowl with her wooden spoon as she did so. Helma laid a hand gently on her shoulder. "Tilly, dear, I think the boys would like it if you could eat your breakfast a little more quietly this morning."

Tilly looked up at Helma, and then at Kay and Arthur, and happily obliged, attacking her porridge with a vigour that did nothing to help the stomachs of her companions.

Helma perched herself on the end of the wooden bench seat on which Arthur was sitting, and looked at him with a concerned expression as she spoke. "William – Kay says that you saved him from being beaten up by Herrick and that you overpowered him and two others in a matter of moments." She paused. "Not many people could do that, William….." Arthur didn't look up but just shrugged his shoulders, so she continued, "What happened? Did you remember anything?"

Arthur continued staring at the uneaten contents of his bowl. "It was just instinct. I didn't really think about it, it just came to me. I still remember nothing." He finally looked up at her. "I can't explain it."

Helma sighed but then smiled at him, "I'm not sure what to make of it all…. But thank you for protecting Kay."

But when Edric entered just as she finished speaking, there was concern written all over her face as she looked at him.

~~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Luckily for Arthur and Kay, as the day wore on, the effects of the drink the previous evening wore off, and although Edric let them off any further ploughing that day, there were still plenty of tasks to do around the house, and by the afternoon, Kay was deeply engrossed in trying to mend the harrow, whilst Arthur found himself chopping wood, although that quickly turned into him vigorously sharpening the blade, after having asked if they owned a whetstone. Kay grinned at him. "So, you know about axes then?" to which Arthur just replied with a smile, "It appears so."

Helma smiled to herself as she fed the chickens that roamed around by the house, pleased to see that the hostility between Kay and Arthur had completed disappeared and seemed to have been replaced by a growing friendship between the two young men. Tilly, for her part, was sitting on the ground, playing with a piece of wood and bashing the ground with it. The scene was suddenly interrupted, however, when Edric came into view, running towards them and looking troubled, causing all of them to cease what they were doing and look up at him enquiringly.

Edric was somewhat out of breath as he called out with a tone of urgency in his voice, "Helma!"

"What is it?"

He pulled up as he reached them and looked at his wife and son in turn as he continued. "Odin's men have been spotted just down the road, coming this way."

Arthur could see the worried expressions, verging on fear, on all their faces, and Helma put into words the same thought that was going through their minds: "If it's Odin's men, it can't mean anything good."

Edric went on: "Toby says that they've been searching all the villages around here – they're looking for someone."

They all immediately looked at Arthur, and Edric spoke quickly and urgently: "We don't know if it's you they're looking for, William, but we're not going to take any chances."

Kay turned to Arthur: "We need to hide you, Will…."

Edric took the decision that needed to be made: "The grain store – quick!" And with that, Edric and Kay grabbed Arthur and pulled him with them, as Helma picked up Tilly and hurried indoors. Helma then crouched down to be on the same level as her daughter, and spoke clearly but hurriedly to her: "Tilly love, we have to keep William safe, do you understand?" Tilly nodded solemnly. "We have to pretend that it's before William came here, and that we don't know anything about him, and have never seen him. Do you think you can do that for me?" Tilly nodded again. "Good girl!"

Meanwhile, as the three men ran around to the back of the house together, Edric explained to Arthur, "The grain store is just behind the houses on the edge of the village. It's where we hide our grain underground, in case we have any bandits in the village or if Odin's men demand too much. They won't find you there."

As they reached the spot, Kay and Edric hurriedly cleared away the dirt and leaves that were over the top of a wooden hatched, and pulled it up. Arthur looked at the other two, with concern etched on his face: "What about the others in the village? They know I'm here!"

Edric tried to allay his fears, "We're a close community. They all see you as a guest of this village, and none of them will betray you to Odin's men. Now, quickly, get down there. Cover your mouth – it may be dusty – we don't want you coughing if they come near here."

And with that, they bundled Arthur down into the store, closed the hatch, and covered it so that it couldn't be seen again, and then ran back to the village, slowing to a walk so that they wouldn't look suspicious as they came around the back of their own house. The sight that greeted them was Odin's men going from house to house, searching inside each one. Two of the men emerged from their house, followed by Helma and Tilly, and Edric and Kay went over to join them, speaking in low tones.

Kay asked the question that both he and his father wanted the answer to, "Did you find out who they're looking for?"

"They wouldn't say. All they would say is that they've been out searching for three days."

Edric looked concerned, "It must be William they're looking for. Did they suspect anything, do you think?"

"I don't think so." She gave her husband a little smile. "Thankfully it's not the first time the village has had to hide things from Odin's men – we're well practised."

"Well at least if they've been searching all the villages it means they don't know he's in Esentor, but we'd better leave William hidden until we're sure they're a safe distance away." And Edric was grateful for the fact that his son was a sufficiently infrequent visitor to the tavern that no one would be likely to know which village he – and more to the point, his companion – had come from, even if the story of the previous evening's encounter came to the attention of those who had been sent by Odin.

~~~~~~ O ~~~~~

When they were all sure that Odin's men had disappeared for good, Kay and Edric hurried back around to the grain store, and pulled up the hatch once more. They reached down to grab Arthur's arms and helped pull him out, and when he was back above ground again, Arthur stood wincing slightly at the bright sunshine, and he brushed himself down from the fine dust that covered him, as Helma and Tilly walked over to join them all.

"Alright, Will?"

Arthur nodded in response to Kay's enquiry, but there was a troubled look on his face.

"Did they say who they were looking for?"

Edric shook his head. "No…. but we're fairly sure it was you, given the length of time they say they've been out searching. William - if you ever see Odin's men again, get away from them, and then just run, run as fast as you can!"

Arthur still looked troubled, and he fixed his gaze on the ground, pausing before he voiced his fears. "What do you think I've done? Do you think it's something terrible?"

Edric couldn't resist a smile, and laid a reassuring hand on Arthur's shoulder, causing Arthur to look up at him. "William – I find it almost impossible to believe that that's the case, if your last three days with us is anything to go by! I can't believe that you changed into a completely different person when you lost your memory." Edric thought for a moment and then gave a little sigh, before continuing. "We don't know why they're looking for you, but I do think it would be safest from now on, though, if you kept close to the village. No more trips to the tavern….," and with a good humoured smile at his son, he added "…which may not be a bad thing for Kay either!"

And with that, they all turned and headed back into the village.

~~~~~~ O ~~~~~

As the days in Esentor became weeks, Arthur began to feel that he belonged there – and began to feel that he had an identity. At least he had a name, a family to live with and a community of which he'd become a part. The other villagers got used to the sight of Kay and Arthur walking together to the fields, with equipment slung over their shoulders, chatting together – and as time went by, Arthur found he had more and more to contribute to their conversations. He became used to the pace of village life, and to the daily chores that he joined in with as much as the other members of the family – drawing water from the village well and carrying it back to the house, dealing (when he'd been shown how to by Kay) with the fish or animals that had been caught so that they could be turned into a meal, and collecting and then chopping wood for the fire. It was noted with interest that Arthur wielded an axe with great strength and accuracy, which only led to the guess that he might have been a woodsman. Had Kay hunted with a long-bow, as some of the other villagers did, he might have found out something else about Arthur. Although the cross-bow was his favoured weapon, Arthur had handled a long-bow often enough when he was growing up to still be able to use it with startling accuracy and deadly effect. Hunting with bows, however, required a greater degree of patience and stealth than Kay could be bothered with, and so it was trapping that he taught his new friend out in the woods around Esentor.

And then, of course, there was the constant requirement to keep Tilly entertained, and Kay and Arthur often took it in turns to run around carrying her, giving her piggy-backs or rides on their shoulders, and it wasn't unusual to see, whilst the supper was cooking, Kay and Arthur play wrestling, which always seemed to have the same outcome - Arthur bringing Kay down to the ground on his back, although Kay never seemed to tire of trying to better his opponent. Most evenings ended the same way, with the whole family sitting around the table for a meal, talking and laughing together, and it warmed the hearts of both Helma and Edric to see the interaction between the two young men at the table, which would on most occasions involve, at some point, Kay saying something to Arthur which caused them both to lower their heads with uncontrollable laughter.

The question of his true identity no longer gnawed away at Arthur's heart with the same intensity as it had done at first, but one other unspoken question kept raising its head despite his efforts to suppress it. And he wasn't the only one asking that question.

~~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Helma stood just outside the house, doing the latest batch of washing in a large wooden tub. As Edric came out through the door, Helma stood up from bending over the clothes, and they both stood together looking over towards the tree opposite the house, where Arthur was sitting with Tilly, engrossed in the latest game that she had invented.

There was a look of sadness in Helma's eyes. "Why does no one come for him, Edric?"

Edric paused and sighed deeply. "I don't know. I don't understand it any more than you do."

"Someone, somewhere must be missing him, surely?"

"I don't doubt it, but we've still no idea where he's from or how he got on that road that day. He's a riddle, Helma."

Helma voiced once more one possible reason that they had spoken of before. "Maybe it's because his home is far from here, and that's why no-one's come yet." Neither of them wanted to mention again the possibility that the reason his family hadn't come was because they had transgressed Odin in some way, and that was why Odin had been searching for him – and why there was no one left in his family to come for him.

Edric shrugged his shoulders. "Anything's possible I suppose – it's almost six weeks now, and he still remembers absolutely nothing about his life before. I still find it hard to believe, though, that Odin was looking for him because he's done something wrong."

Helma smiled, "He has such a good and kind heart….."

Edric turned his gaze from Arthur and onto his wife, "You've grown very fond of him, haven't you?"

Helma looked back at him with a smile. "I don't think I'm the only one, am I?"

The eyes of both of them returned to Arthur, and Edric added with a certain amount of satisfaction, "Kay's loved having William around too – there's quite a bond that's formed between them."

"And Tilly adores him." She turned her gaze back on Edric, who turned his head towards her again. "I know I shouldn't say this, dear, but….. "

Edric gave a little knowing smile as he completed his wife's sentence, "I know - it feels as if our family is complete again."

"I know he can never replace Owain, and I don't want him to, but he's become like a brother to both our children. I know that there are probably people out there who know him and love him and who are missing him now, but is it very wrong for a part of me to wish that he were able to stay with us for good?"

Edric smiled wryly at his wife as he gave his answer. "Well, if it is wrong, then I am guilty of that particular sin too!" And with that, he put his arm around Helma's waist and kissed her, as they turned to look back at Arthur.

But as it turned out, they didn't have to wait too much longer to discover the extraordinary answer to all their questions.

_**Author's note**_

_**Yes, yes, that does mean we will finally be getting back to our other friends from Camelot in the next chapter.**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Two days after the conversation between them, Edric was chopping wood around mid-morning whilst Helma sat in a chair outside the house with a needle and thread, mending a shirt in the good light of the bright morning sunshine. A sound from a short distance away caused her to suddenly look up and she immediately stiffened at the sight of six somewhat imposing men riding into their village. They were all dressed in simple tunics and jackets, although the first of them also had a red scarf around his neck.

There was an urgency in her voice as she exclaimed, "Edric – look!"

And as Edric stopped chopping and looked up, he also stiffened, and they watched in silence as two of the men dismounted, and spoke out of earshot with Thomas. Thomas hesitated, but then pointed over towards Edric and Helma, which resulted in the other four dismounting, and after they had all tied up their horses, they started walking towards the couple. Helma put down her sewing and nervously rose to her feet, as Edric moved over to her side, the axe still in his hand.

Edric whispered "They're not Odin's men by the looks of it."

"But who are they?"

"I'll do the talking…."

Edric tightened his grip on the axe as Merlin and the knights of Camelot reached them. Leon spoke first, quietly and gently, mindful of the axe that Edric was holding.

"We mean you no harm. We're here because we're searching for a friend of ours."

Helma and Edric exchanged glances – and the wordless exchange between them was not lost on the others. Gwaine continued. "A couple of us were in a tavern in a village not far from here last evening. We heard a story concerning someone who we're told is probably from somewhere around here. We think it might be our friend."

Edric asked cautiously, "When did he – your friend – go missing?"

Merlin answered, "A couple of days before the last full moon but one."

Helma and Edric looked at each other once again, and it was clear to Merlin in particular that they were nervous about saying anything, and so when he spoke again it was earnestly but kindly: "I know you have no reason to trust us, but please believe me, we've been searching without a break ever since he went missing, and we just want to get him back home safely. He IS our friend and is very dear to us."

When Edric and Helma still hesitated, Elyan pleaded with them. "Please, if you know anything then tell us! My sister is as good as betrothed to him, and she has been sick with worry, fearing she has lost him forever."

After another pause and a last glance at Helma, Edric took a deep breath and began. "About a couple of months ago, three of us were returning from Berlund, the village where the tavern is. We found a young man, about the same age as your good selves, lying unconscious in the road, and so we brought him back here. When he came to he couldn't tell us one thing about himself, not even his name – all his memories were gone."

At this, Merlin and the others exchanged glances that were etched with concern, which at least in some measure lessened the anxiety felt by the couple. Edric spoke again. "He's been with us ever since, but even now he's not able to remember anything of his life before the day we found him."

Edric and Helma watched as the newcomers all drew deep breaths and raised their eyebrows or shook their heads as they looked round at one another again.

Edric knew that he now had nothing to lose by continuing. "And this friend of yours, what does he look like?"

Lancelot glanced briefly at the others before giving the answer. "He is about my height and build, but fair-haired and clean shaven. He has good features but he carries some scars, though you may not be aware of them….."

Merlin filled in the details: "He has slight scarring below his left shoulder, front and back, and another scar on the back of his right leg." Gwaine nodded, remembering the cross-bow bolt that he had removed.

Edric drew another deep breath and quickly exhaled: "That's him!"

But as the knights and Merlin exchanged excited looks, Helma finally could keep quiet no longer, and when she spoke her voice was pained, "Why has it taken you so long to come?"

There was a pause from the group, who were acutely aware that they were now in Odin's territory, and Leon replied simply, "We're not from these parts – we've searched far and wide."

Edric understood perfectly what he was saying: "If you're from beyond Odin's borders, do not worry. We may be in his kingdom, but we owe him no allegiance." He paused before speaking again. "A few days after we found him, Odin's men came searching the villages around here for someone, and we suspect it was for him….." Again, the others looked at one another – and Edric could see that what he had said meant something to them. "…we don't know why, but we kept him hidden."

Helma was again unable to keep herself from speaking. "Who is he and what has he done?"

It was Leon who deflected rather than answered her question. "All in good time. But for now, know that he owes you his life. If Odin's men had found him, he would not be alive today."

Helma and Edric once again looked at each other with concern in their eyes.

Merlin finally asked after a little pause, "Where is he now?"

Edric gave a glance off towards his right. "In the fields beyond the village with our son, Kay, ploughing."

Merlin nodded in acknowledgement…. But then did a double take, and said with a note of incredulity in his voice: "He's….. he's what?!"

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

As Merlin and the knights stood out of sight in the shelter of the small wood at the edge of the field, all of them had their arms folded, their heads cocked or both. They found themselves staring at an altogether unfamiliar sight – Arthur doing manual labour.

Gwaine spoke with a matter of fact tone that was tinged with disbelief: "You know that feeling, when you've just woken up in the night, and you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming….?"

Merlin, feeling that the tables had been somewhat turned on his master, added with a smile, "Do you know what? I could stand staying here a while and just watching this!"

And when Elyan added his contribution there was a certain amount of incredulity in his voice, "I don't know which is more surprising: the fact that Arthur is ploughing, or that he's actually making a good job of it. I should know, I've made enough ploughs in my time!"

They stood in silence for a few moments, transfixed by the sight of Arthur, dressed in peasant's clothes, pushing the plough steadily into the ground as the horse pulled it forward. Percival then voiced the question that was in all of their minds: "Do you think he's going to remember us, given what Edric said?"

Merlin exhaled in a low whistle. "He won't have had anyone that he's seen before here. Maybe seeing us will jog his memory."

Gwaine grinned: "Well, I guess we're going to find out soon enough…"

Lancelot looked round at them all: "Ready?"

They all nodded and walked forward together, breaking cover, and Merlin called out in a loud voice. "Arthur!"

Kay and Arthur both looked up suddenly and froze at the sight of six men that neither of them recognised walking purposefully towards them, and there was something about the way they all held themselves which unnerved both Arthur and Kay.

Arthur's voice was full of urgency as he turned to Kay, "Who are they?"

"I don't know, but they're not from around here. They may be Odin's men!" and he looked at Arthur with panic in his eyes. "Run, Will. RUN!"

And with that, Arthur dropped the plough, turned his back and started running as fast as he could down the sloping field, away from the knights and towards the woods that lay on the other side of the field.

Gwaine cocked his head as they all paused momentarily. "Is he actually running away from us?"

"Seems like it!" answered Merlin with raised eye-brows.

"Well, that's new….."

Merlin had to agree with Gwaine's comment, and he turned to Percival: "I guess that would be a 'no' to your question then!"

And with that, they all exchanged a last quick glance, and then started in hot pursuit. As soon as Kay saw them break into a run, he turned and bellowed after Arthur: "WILLIAM – RUN!"

As the six men ran at speed past Kay, Arthur disappeared into the woods, and the six fanned out, breaking into three pairs – Gwaine and Elyan who veered off to the left, Merlin and Lancelot who went off to the right, and Leon and Percival who kept straight on, following the direction that Arthur had taken into the woods. As they in turn disappeared into the woods, Kay decided that the best thing that he could do was to run back to the village, to get help if possible – and with a heart that was already pounding, he set off running as fast as he could up the field and away from the pursuit.

Arthur felt as though he was running for his life, and the extreme exertion of running flat out without a break soon left him breathing heavily, and with an aching side. Although he was swift and covered ground rapidly, the same was true of Merlin and his knights. Unbeknown to him, he had his regular training sessions for the knights to thank – or curse – for that. Arthur eventually knew that he had to pull up for a moment, and he also wanted to try to see where his pursuers were. He quickly ducked behind a tree and stood listening, his chest heaving and painful after the exertion. He took a quick look around the tree, but the glance revealed nothing of the others, and he stood with his back to the tree for a few moments, looking up and pondering with a certain amount of panic what he should do.

The others in their pairs had also slowed, realising that they had lost sight of him in the woods. Merlin cast a quick glance around, but then his eyes glowed gold as he slowed down the flow of time, giving him time to see even the smallest, quickest movements – and there it was. He caught sight of Arthur, way over to his left, taking a quick look around the tree again, and Merlin also saw that Leon and Percival were not too far behind Arthur. "LEON – ahead of you and Percival!"

As the other two ran forward, Arthur broke cover, and began veering away from the two closest to him, running away further to the left but towards Gwaine and Elyan, unaware that they were in that direction. Leon and Percival caught sight of Arthur, and started pursuing him again, and Lancelot and Merlin also began running swiftly in that direction, but further behind now. Arthur was still running flat out, but Gwaine and Elyan started to close in on him from an angle, and Elyan, the swiftest of them all, was the first to close the gap, and he grabbed at Arthur's shirt.

Although Arthur didn't realise it, he had a distinct advantage over the others. Whilst they had a reluctance to do anything that would hurt their prince, he had no such reticence. And so, when he felt himself being pulled at, he suddenly swung around and landed a hefty punch on Elyan, almost breaking his nose. Filled with the sudden, blinding pain, there was nothing that Elyan could do but pull up, bend over and put both hands up to his face, as his nose started to bleed profusely. The action lost Arthur a couple of seconds, however, and Gwaine was upon him. The knight reached out and grabbed Arthur's left wrist with his right hand, but as he did so, Arthur swung his right fist round to punch him. Gwaine's reactions were quicker than Elyan's however, and with his free hand, Gwaine grabbed Arthur's other wrist as his fist came towards him. With both wrists in Gwaine's vice-like grip, Arthur did the only thing he could think of, and rammed his knee as hard as he could into Gwaine's groin. The effect was immediate: Gwaine released his grip on Arthur and dropped to his knees in agony, allowing Arthur to break free and start running again. And as Gwaine finally keeled over, doubled up in excruciating pain, he groaned to Elyan, who was similarly bent over with his face throbbing: "I swear, I'm going to kill him for that….."

The exchange with Gwaine and Elyan had given Leon and Percival time to close the distance on Arthur, and they both came crashing into him from the right, knocking him to the ground, but also falling to the ground themselves in the process, all rolling over and over in the process because of the speed at which they were running. Arthur was the first to manage to stop himself and immediately began to raise himself from his knees to head off again. Lancelot - always a fast sprinter - had however also finally reached them, and with lightning speed, he reached down to catch hold of Arthur's leg which was stretched out behind him as braced himself to take off again, and Lancelot yanked his leg backwards, causing Arthur to fall flat on his face. Leon and Percival were, by this time, also upon him, and Arthur found himself being pulled over onto his back by arms that were simply too strong for him, and his own arms were swiftly pinned down, by Leon on one side and Percival on the other, with Lancelot also standing over him for good measure. Despite Arthur's writhing, he found that he had no hope of escaping from their grip, and after a short while he gave up trying, and simply lay there on his back, breathing heavily, with a look of deep apprehension on his face, as he glanced between them – and as he looked up at them, he was surprised to see in their faces not hatred or malice, but the unmistakable expression of curiosity.

A few more moments of silent scrutiny passed until Merlin arrived, with Gwaine and Elyan both hobbling in pain beside him. Merlin instantly looked over Lancelot's shoulder with a broad grin and, as Gwaine gave a smile that was more of a pained grimace and Elyan raised a bloodied hand in greeting, he exclaimed cheerily: "Hello! We're your friends!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As Arthur stood away from the other six, once again acutely aware that he was the topic of conversation, the others quickly decided, mainly for Arthur's sake, to tell him the truth about his real identity when he was back in the village, with those whom he knew. Arthur led them back towards the village, walking in silence a few steps ahead of them, and even though the exertion of the chase had passed, his heart was still pounding. The horrible feeling of being totally unsure of himself, which had been such a feature of his first couple of days in Esentor, had returned with a vengeance, and he felt as if his life were in the hands of the strange bunch of men who were following him. _How did they know him? They had said they were his friends rather than family, but what did that mean?_ And his mind was suddenly once again besieged by the questions of his identity that he had managed to push to the back of his mind in the more recent weeks.

As Merlin and the knights followed behind with their eyes fixed on the back of the young man who was so well-known to them, and yet suddenly seemed so unfamiliar, Lancelot turned to Merlin:

"How do you think he's going to react when we tell him who he is?"

Merlin gave a little shrug. "Well he hasn't done anything predictable so far, so your guess is as good as mine."

Lancelot glanced over to Merlin, "He really doesn't know us at all, does he?"

Merlin looked worried as he replied, "No, and I haven't a clue what's happened to him…. or how he got here."

Lancelot turned his gaze back on Arthur, "Maybe we'll get some more clues as we talk to him."

"Maybe, but I don't hold out much hope if what Edric says about his memory is correct."

Leon chipped in on their conversation: "We can't take him back to Camelot like this. People will think he's lost his mind."

Merlin exclaimed, "He has lost his mind! – and somehow we've got to help him find it again!"

As they entered the village, the family were all standing by the door of the house, anxiously waiting for Arthur's return. Kay had been filled in by his parents, when he arrived breathless back at the house, on what had happened when the strangers had turned up, but Kay's anxiety for Arthur had been only reduced rather than eradicated by what they had to tell him. However, as soon as Tilly saw Arthur, she did what she always tended to do – she ran towards him, not particularly worried about the sight of the strangers behind him, as Arthur himself seemed to be ignoring their presence. And Arthur, as he was in the habit of doing, bent down and lifted her up into his arms, hardly breaking stride as he did so. Behind him, the knights and Merlin all looked at each other with raised eyebrows, and exchanged amused smiles at a side of Arthur that they had never seen before. Arthur held her securely in his arms, whilst she – as she usually did - put her arms around his neck, and wrapped her legs around his waist, and she looked over his left shoulder in fascination at those who were following him. And when they grinned at her, any slight hesitation about the men immediately evaporated in her mind. She decided she liked the look of them and beamed back at them, as she proudly announced, "This is my new brother William. Sometimes he pretends he's a horse, and I ride round on his back."

Gwaine just shook his head and announced under his breath to no one in particular: "This just gets better and better!"

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

The small house was crowded with eleven people squeezed into it. The party from Camelot were all standing around the walls, and they watched Arthur closely and with curiosity. It was a strange feeling, seeing the person they knew so well, still with his usual mannerisms but relating to these strangers (and they to him) in a way that seemed so out of place – with a familiarity that seemed so odd, given his true identity. There was the way that Edric laid his hand on Arthur's shoulder and the way that Helma fussed over his hand that had been hurt by the force with which it had made contact with Elyan's face, the silent looks that passed between Arthur and the other young man, and the way that Arthur, almost absent-mindedly, stroked the top of the young girl's head with affection. And familiarity was a good word for it, because family is exactly what they had become to the Prince of Camelot.

Kay stood in a corner, somewhat nervous at the presence of the strangers, and Helma went round, pouring water into the plain wooden cups that Edric had given them (although he had had to quickly run to Thomas' house to get some extra cups, as their own house had five and no more). Arthur sat on a chair by the table in the middle of the room, apprehensive and avoiding eye contact with any of the men who claimed to know him. When Helma finished serving the men, she put the jug down, picked up Tilly, and sat on one of the other chairs at the table, across from Arthur, with Tilly on her lap. Edric went to stand near Arthur and, once again, laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. As everyone in the room became still, Arthur was once again very aware that every eye was on him, waiting for him, and after a pause, he finally looked up, but avoided holding any of their gazes for more than a moment. And then he spoke.

"You shouted out _Arthur_ in the field. I take it that's my name?

Lancelot acted as their spokesman: "Yes…" - and he paused before continuing - "….. part of it."

Arthur glanced up at him: "And the other part?"

Lancelot paused again and looked round at the others before turning back to Arthur and answering him: "Pendragon."

The effect on the family was instantaneous. Kay had chosen the wrong moment to take a mouthful of water, and he suddenly spluttered and started choking noisily on it. Helma gasped and raised a hand to her mouth, whilst Edric – not a man known for swearing – uttered a quiet expletive under his breath, and looked at his wife, dumbfounded. Tilly and Arthur were the only ones in the room who didn't understand the significance of that word, and both had similar expressions of bewilderment on their faces as they looked around at the others.

Arthur looked from Helma to Edric: "I don't know what that means."

Edric drew in another deep breath and, speaking gently to Arthur, answered his question: "It means – Arthur – that you are royalty."

Arthur looked down and his brow furrowed, as if he was in deep concentration, trying to search for some glimmer of recollection - but he found none. He shook his head slightly before looking up, and when he did, there was sadness in his eyes as he said to Lancelot, "You could have told me that I was anyone on this earth, and I wouldn't know if what you said was true or not."

"Believe me, sire, it is true."

The word _sire _sounded strange in Arthur's ears, and his sense of bewilderment had hardly diminished with the explanation. Lancelot continued, speaking gently and kindly to his prince: "We areyour friends, but also more than that," and as he began to introduce the others, indicating them as he spoke, each in turn smiled at Arthur and nodded as they were presented. "This is Merlin - he is your man-servant, and no truer or more loyal servant has anyone ever had. The rest of us are your knights, sworn to protect you." At this piece of information, Kay looked in amazement at them all – the knights of Camelot had a reputation that went far and wide.

"These are Leon and Percival, then there's Gwaine and Elyan, and I am Lancelot."

Arthur then asked the question that was uppermost in his mind: "What happened to me – how did I get here like this?"

It was Merlin who answered this time. "We don't know, sire – one moment you were in Camelot, and then you were gone, with no explanation of what had happened or where you'd gone. You don't remember anything?"

"No, nothing."

Arthur lowered his gaze, his brow furrowing again, as he tried to come to terms with what he'd been told. He then suddenly looked up, as if he had just torn himself away from his train of thought. "And my family?"

Lancelot answered, "Your father is Uther Pendragon, the king of Camelot and its surrounding territories."

Arthur looked at Edric and Helma in turn, "He was the one you said was a tyrant, wasn't he?"

The couple shifted their positions, clearly feeling deeply uncomfortable, and Arthur was very aware of an awkward silence in the room, with no one feeling able to contradict what had just been said.

"My lord, we didn't mean any…" Arthur winced slightly, pained at Helma's use of the strange form of address, which only seemed to drive an unwelcome wedge between them, and he interrupted her before she could go any further, "Please don't call me that – and it really doesn't matter."

But Edric still felt the need to carry on where his wife had left off, "Arthur, forgive us for any offence we've caused – none was intended."

"There is nothing to forgive - it seems you were only speaking the truth." And not wanting to cause Edric and Helma any more discomfort, and he looked around again at the knights. "And my mother?" And he couldn't help glancing over at Helma as he asked it. There was another awkward pause.

Leon, as the one who had lived all his life in Camelot, and knew more than all the others about Arthur as he had been growing up, answered the question with gentleness in his voice: "She died in childbirth when you were born."

Learning as if for the first time the news that had, although he didn't know it at that moment, brought him sadness throughout his entire life was like a stab to his heart. Helma looked at Arthur, feeling something of his pain, and their eyes met briefly before he quickly looked down at the floor. There was a brief pause and he then looked up at Leon again. "What of brothers and sisters?"

Merlin, having seen Arthur's response to all he'd already been told, had a pretty good idea of how the next piece of information would affect him: "You have no brothers. You are Uther's only son, and crown prince of Camelot and heir to the throne."

And Merlin wasn't wrong. Arthur drew in a deep breath, immediately scared of the weight of responsibility that had just been laid upon his shoulders. _How was he meant to fulfil a role that he didn't have the first clue about – and that he didn't want?_ He broke away from the troubling thoughts, glanced at Tilly and then back at the party from Camelot, and when he spoke, there was a hopeful tone in his voice. "And sisters?"

Arthur stared at them with a questioning expression on his face when yet another awkward silence fell on the room in response to his question.

It was Merlin who eventually answered. "You have a half sister, but she is no longer in Camelot."

It wasn't difficult for Arthur, however, to tell from their faces that they were still keeping something from him. "What are you not telling me?"

There was another pause before Gwaine broke the silence. "She's a witch, she's tried to kill you and she wants you dead so that she can take the throne."

The sharp intakes of breath of all the others from Camelot was matched by the looks of exasperation and reproach that they all gave Gwaine, as they shook their heads in disbelief at what he'd just said.

Gwaine, however, was quick to defend himself: "What?! He asked us a question and I'm only answering it. He's got to know sometime, and it may as well be now!"

Another short silence followed, after which Arthur looked around at them all and said with a note of disbelief in his voice: "So, my father is a tyrant, my mother is dead, my sister wants to kill me, and that is the home that you've come to take me back to?"

There was another awkward pause before Merlin finally piped up with a cheerier tone to his voice, "It's really not as bad as it sounds!"

As Arthur looked down at the floor and shook his head again, Leon leant over to Merlin and whispered with a wry smile on his face, "So this probably isn't the time to mention that he had a step-mother who was a troll?"

"Not now, no…."

Edric's heart once again went out to the young man sitting in his house who had yet again been thrown into turmoil – not this time by not knowing his identity, but by having it suddenly thrust upon him. And it was an identity that carried with it not only a crushing weight of responsibility but also an existence that sounded to Arthur both harsh and unwelcoming. And Edric sensed the need to lighten the mood. "Well Arthur, at least you being royalty explains one thing…," and he cast a pointed but good natured glance over to Kay before continuing with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face: "….why you couldn't do anything useful when you arrived!"

When the laughter – which even Arthur had been able to join in with – died down, Kay finally plucked up the courage to speak. "And I guess it also explains why you can fight."

Lancelot and Gwaine suddenly looked up and then looked at each other – they had both had the same idea.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Once everyone was outside, Lancelot made his way back over to the horses. Whilst they were waiting for him to return, Kay whispered anxiously to his father who was standing next to him, "What should I do? How am I meant to treat him now?" Edric may not have been an educated man, but his years had brought him a wisdom that could not be learned from books. He had the rare gift of not only understanding people in all their complexity – but also of knowing how to handle them with kindness and respect. He had seen the haunted look return to Arthur's eyes when he was presented without warning or preparation with his new and daunting identity, which also served as a stark reminder that he didn't belong to the family of which he'd become a part. Edric glanced sideways at his son: "He may be a prince, but I doubt very much as if he feels like one yet. He's been plunged suddenly into a world that's totally alien to him, and I think the best thing that we can do is to continue to treat him exactly as we were doing before. I don't think he'll want us to do anything else. We're still the only ones he really knows and the only ones he feels comfortable with. To draw back and distance ourselves from him will only make it harder for him. Forget his title, Kay – you're still the one he knows better than any of us and the person he's closest to, and he's still the same person that he was this morning. And I don't think that's going to change in a hurry unless everything suddenly comes back to him." Kay nodded, but any further conversation was forgotten as Lancelot returned with two swords, still sheathed, in his hands.

Arthur was standing on his own in the clear space at the front of the house, and by this time some of the other villagers were also standing around the edge of the open ground, curious about what was going on between _William_ and the visitors. Gwaine stood off to one side, leaning on the hilt of a sword, the tip of which was resting on the ground. Lancelot walked over to Arthur and held the sheath that was in his right hand towards Arthur, with the hilt of the sword towards him. Arthur took hold of the sword and pulled it out, looking at it as if it were something completely foreign to him. Lancelot tossed the empty sheath away to one side, and then pulled out the sword from the other sheath, discarding that as well. Arthur stood with the sword in his hand and glanced round at all the others who were looking expectantly at him. And as he continued to glance around, without realising what he was doing, he swirled the sword around in his hand as was his custom when he was preparing to fight. The knights and Merlin exchanged knowing smiles, and Arthur caught their expressions and stared at them all. "What?"

But instead of replying and without warning, Lancelot raised his sword and aimed a blow at Arthur. Arthur's sword instantly and instinctively flew up and blocked it, leaving Arthur staring in surprise at the sword and his hand that was holding it, but when he looked up again, Lancelot smiled another knowing smile and aimed a couple more blows, which were again effortlessly parried by Arthur. That was the cue for Lancelot to start a full blown attack, and the two of them began to fight with immense speed and skill. Kay and Edric looked on in amazement, and Kay in particular was utterly transfixed, never having seen anyone wield swords in that way before. Without taking his eyes of the action, Kay said in amazement to his father, "No wonder he could handle a plough!"

By this time, almost all the village had turned out, and Merlin and the others exchanged broad smiles. Gwaine then went over to join Lancelot, and soon Arthur was parrying both their blows, again seemingly effortlessly, much to Kay's wonder – and delight. In a sudden and swift move, Arthur knocked Lancelot's sword from his hands, and without warning landed a heavy body blow on Gwaine, causing him to lose his footing and fall, and Arthur immediately found himself standing over him with the point of his sword on Gwaine's chest. The knight was grinning, however, and put his hands out to the side to indicate defeat, and he added jokingly, "I'm just glad you didn't repeat the blow you gave me earlier!"

The others from Camelot were grinning as well, and Elyan summed up what they were all thinking, "Well, his hands haven't forgotten much, even if his mind has!" But Merlin's smile suddenly faded as he looked over at Arthur again, who had lifted the weapon from Gwaine's chest, but was standing staring down at his sword, deeply disturbed, filled with a sudden horror at what he may have done in his unknown past. The knights also began to catch Arthur's expression and their smiles also faded. Arthur abruptly looked up and asked them sharply and with some force, "And have I killed men with my sword?"

They looked back at him uneasily and none of them replied. So Arthur continued, "How many?" Again there was silence. "Five, ten, twenty?... or so many that you have lost count!" And as the silence persisted, another thought came to him. "And what did I do that made Odin send out men to hunt me down?" but this time when he didn't get an answer, he bellowed at them, "Answer me!" - and in that moment they saw a flash of the old Arthur. Leon, as the only one to have witnessed the duel between Arthur and Odin's son, finally answered him. "You killed his son."

Arthur looked down at the sword again with disdain and, after a final glance around at them all, he threw the sword to the ground and walked off.

Edric sensed his son hesitating. "Go to him, Kay." And Kay overcame his reticence and started to run after Arthur. But Merlin - with a look of deep concern on his face - also made a move to follow his friend, as he'd always done in the past when his prince needed him. Helma was by his side, however, and he suddenly felt a gentle but a restraining hand resting on his arm.

Helma spoke quietly, looking at Merlin as she did. "Leave him be."

And as Kay caught up with Arthur and they walked away from the village side by side, Helma continued, "I can see in your face that you care for him and I'm sure you are a good friend to Arthur, but for now you are a stranger to him, and Kay is the only friend he has. Let them be together for the moment." And with that, Helma walked quietly away from Merlin as Gwaine and the other knights came over to stand with him, and together they all watched as Arthur disappeared from their view. Gwaine was the one to break the silence: "Well, that went well….."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's note**_

_**Oops! Changed something slightly from the original a couple of chapters ago, and forgot it had to be a full moon when the party from Camelot arrived (for minor reasons). So (just in case anyone realises the inconsistency), Arthur's been there eight weeks not six. Will change the previous chapter!**_

Chapter 8

Arthur and Kay walked for miles. It had only taken one moment of eye contact between the two of them to convince Kay that the person he was walking alongside wasn't some prince from a neighbouring kingdom but the William that he had grown to know and love over the previous two months. And he began to understand the wisdom of his father's words as he too saw the return of the haunted look to Arthur's eyes.

Had the party from Camelot arrived soon after Arthur had been found on the track, it would have been easier for him. But coming several weeks later, it was a very different matter, because by that time he had a new life. Although he now had his true name and identity, both were still utterly unfamiliar to him and it felt as if he was being asked to cast aside the only memories and identity that were real to him. He was being dragged down, all over again, into the blackness of not knowing who he was. So Arthur was grateful to have Kay at his side as they walked across the fields and towards the river, because Kay was a constant in all the turmoil – at least he hadn't changed. One advantage to Arthur - at that moment - of still having no memory of his past was that he wasn't saddled with the self-consciousness of royalty. Neither did he have the reticence about expressing and sharing his true feelings with others that had been a part of his growing up as a prince - and that had also been the result of parenting that consisted solely of a father who rarely, if ever, spoke of matters of the heart, or of his love for his son. His time in Esentor had shown him a very different way of being family, where thoughts, feelings and affection were expressed with a freedom that he had never encountered in his other life.

And so Arthur – or _William_ as he still felt he was – poured out to his heart to his friend.

"The only thing that feels real to me is being William and being here. Good grief, Kay – you know more about who I really am – or who I'm meant to be - than I do!"

"I don't know that much….."

"That's not the point, Kay – at least you've heard of me!" Arthur sighed, and then turned to look Kay in the eye as he begged him, "Please don't treat me any differently. I couldn't bear it…"

It wasn't easy for Kay either, though – his life had, after all, suddenly become somewhat surreal - but the more they talked , the more it felt as if it were simply William and Kay once again, even if the topics of conversation had a very odd feel to them.

"You thought I was an idiot because I couldn't use a plough – what on earth will people there think of me when I haven't a clue about how I'm meant to train knights or….. eat at a banquet or…. or whatever else it is that princes are meant to do?"

Kay thought for a moment and then reasoned with him, "You knew how to wield a sword when they put one in your hand - that came back to you, didn't it? Surely other things will when you have to do them as well?"

Arthur reached down and plucked a long blade of grass as they continued walking, twisting it around his fingers as they talked. "Swinging a sword came as naturally to me to today as walking did when I first woke up here in Esentor - but fighting doesn't require you to know people's names or places or events that have happened in the past." Arthur fixed his eyes on the dirt path they were walking along and finally discarded the grass, tossing it off to his side, and when he spoke again there was a bitter edge to his voice. "And what is a father who is a tyrant going to expect of me – or think of me when I don't even recognise him when I see him? Why couldn't they just leave me be?"

And all that Kay could think of to say was, "Well, they seem to care about you."

They walked along by the river in silence for a while, both of them deep in their own thoughts. And so Arthur was somewhat taken by surprise when Kay suddenly burst out laughing. Arthur looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face, waiting for him to explain himself.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! I just remembered - I got drunk with Prince Arthur of Camelot!"

And the more Kay thought about it, the more incongruous – and funny – it seemed to him.

But Arthur soon found himself laughing too, and despite him protesting with the words "Shut up, Kay!" it wasn't long before the two of them had tears running down their cheeks as they recalled their wild speculation in the tavern about his true identity.

Two hours had passed by the time Arthur and Kay finally returned to the village, and although being with Kay had lifted Arthur's spirits, the heaviness returned to him as soon as he spotted the six horses tethered at the edge of the village, and he knew that despite his wishes to the contrary, he would have to face his true identity again all too soon.

In the event, however, it wasn't as soon as he feared. Edric had spent some time in the pair's absence talking to Merlin and the knights about how they should proceed. It was, of course, the case that all had a common concern for Arthur's welfare, and Edric filled them in on Arthur's time in the village and the difficulties of the early days, although he was careful not to betray anything that approached a confidence. Merlin and the others, for their part, spoke with pride of their prince, and it was eventually decided that it would be best not to lay anything more on him that day, but to give him the opportunity to sleep on it. But one more decision was made after Edric left them. Almost immediately he was out of earshot, Merlin suddenly asked, "Elyan, how quickly can you get back and fetch Gwen?"

"It'll be a clear evening, and with the full moon, I can ride through the night and be back here with her sometime around noon tomorrow."

Merlin continued, "Don't tell anyone else back at Camelot that we've found Arthur, though. No-one must know until we've sorted this out. Bring an extra horse with you too – let's hope we're going to need it. Oh, and tell Gwen to wear something nice."

Lancelot glanced over at them both, "Do you think she'll be able to jog his memory?" and Elyan gave a wry smile, "Well, if she can't work her magic, then who can?"

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Whilst Arthur ate that evening with the family, the four remaining knights and Merlin made a make-shift camp outside, and as they consumed the meal that Merlin had concocted from their ever decreasing rations (supplemented by some kind donations from the villagers) they sat around the fire and tried to make sense of what had happened. Leon rested his spoon on the edge of his bowl for a moment, as he paused between mouthfuls. "Even now we've found Arthur, we're still no closer to finding out what happened, and how he could disappear from Camelot just like that and suddenly appear here - with no memory."

Merlin drew in and let out a deep breath before sharing his ideas with the others: "I don't know… I've been thinking. They said he had no injury, wasn't ill and didn't feel any pain when he regained consciousness. If nothing natural caused him to lose his memory then I think it likely that sorcery did."

Gwaine had been thinking the same thing: "Morgana?"

Merlin's expression said it all before he uttered his reply: "Probably."

"She knows Camelot almost as well as Arthur….," continued Leon.

Merlin nodded and he thought back to previous encounters with her. "She knows hidden passage-ways to get into the citadel, and I once saw Morgause use sorcery to make her and Morgana disappear before my very eyes when she suddenly wanted to escape. Morgana spent long enough with her to learn that sort of spell – what if she used it with Arthur? I hate to admit it, but her magic is dark enough and powerful enough to easily overpower him if she found him on his own and unarmed. It's not as if any of us are by his side all the time."

Percival finally put his bowl down, empty: "But we know she wants him dead. Why didn't she just kill him?"

Merlin reminded them of one other fact that they did know. "But what about Odin? He was searching for Arthur, remember? What if Morgana's purposes weren't just to kill Arthur? Think about it: if she somehow used sorcery to make him forget who he was, then that would render him totally vulnerable, and if she then left him on his own in Odin's territory and somehow alerted the king to his presence, then Odin would be likely not only to kill Arthur when he found him, but also to see it as an act of aggression by Camelot…."

Leon completed Merlin's line of reasoning for him: "… so he would then attack Camelot."

"Exactly! Leaving both Odin and Uther weakened….."

And Lancelot added, "….and vulnerable."

Merlin put all the pieces together: "If she wants to take Camelot, then it's going to be far easier if someone else has done most of the work for her!"

They sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating the theory, with nobody finding any reason to dispute it. Gwaine eventually broke in on all their thoughts.

"Correct explanation or not, I still have to attend to the needs of nature, so if you'll excuse me…"

And with that, Gwaine rose to his feet and walked off into the darkness to find a convenient bush. Percival and Leon started talking together, which then gave Lancelot and Merlin the opportunity to have a more private conversation and they both leant away slightly and started talking in more hushed tones.

"Merlin, if it is magic that has robbed Arthur of his memory, is it possible that you may be able to return it to him with your magic?"

Merlin grinned, "I don't know, but I'm certainly going to try!"

Lancelot glanced around to check that their conversation was still private before continuing, "When?"

"Tonight, when everyone's sleeping…"

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Everything was quiet inside the house. Although it was dark, the light of the full moon was filtering in through the shutters, leaving small patches of brightness on the dirt floor. The door swung open quietly, and Merlin crept in as noiselessly as he could. He was unsure as to where Arthur would be, but a cursory glance around revealed Arthur sleeping on the floor, on a thin mattress with a blanket over him, with Kay and Tilly nearby. Although it had been Edric's intention not to treat Arthur any differently, he and Helma both felt awkward about not offering the prince their bed for the night, but Arthur would have none of it, and it had once again saddened him that they had felt the need to offer to sacrifice their comfort for him. Merlin, had he known, would have been impressed – and surprised – by his prince's new humility. Either way, Arthur's insistence on continuing to sleep on the floor made it easier for Merlin, and he inched silently over towards Arthur, picking his way carefully between the others.

When finally at Arthur's side, he knelt down beside the sleeping figure, and began quietly saying his words of magic as he held out a hand towards Arthur. His eyes glowed several times as he tried a variety of spells. He rapidly realised a flaw in his plan, however. He had, of course, no way of knowing whether the spells were working or not. He finally decided to try one last thing, and leant closer in, whispering his words of magic close to Arthur's face. He still didn't know if anything had worked, and he finally let out a big sigh, largely due to the frustration of not knowing if he had succeeded. But he was, however, just about to find out. It was the sigh that had been his mistake. Unbeknown to him, the events of the day had returned Arthur to fitful sleeping, and the breath on his face was all it took to rouse him from his shallow sleep.

Arthur was immediately fully awake, and opened his eyes to find himself staring into Merlin's face, only inches from his. In an instant, Arthur grabbed hold of Merlin's arms, and spun himself up and round, so the tables were turned and, before he knew what was happening, Merlin found himself flat on his back and with his arms pinned to the ground by Arthur's vice-like grip. Arthur was kneeling over him and staring down at him with deep suspicion, and Merlin looked back at the unpredictable prince with nervousness. They both heard Kay stir, but after a few tense seconds, he just turned over and continued sleeping. There was a pause as Merlin and Arthur warily scrutinised each other in the pale moonlight.

This sort of encounter back in Camelot would usually result in a conversation that would start, "Merlin, what are you doing?" and would end with, "Merlin - GET OUT!" But this Arthur didn't know the script and the prince's interrogation this time started with a very different question.

"…Which one are you?" Arthur spoke quietly, so as not to wake the others.

"Merlin… your servant," and his words were spoken equally quietly. And the rest of the exchange continued in the same, hushed tones.

"Oh yes, the skinny one." Arthur paused to scrutinise Merlin further before continuing, "… And does being my servant usually involve creeping around at night whilst others are sleeping?"

Merlin looked nervously back at him: "You'd be surprised how much…"

"And what precisely were you doing?"

Merlin was clutching at straws and so he did what he always did in these sorts of situations – he made it up as he went along. He paused and then said with as much matter-of-fact-ness as he could muster, "… Just the usual!"

Arthur paused: "….. which is?"

There was another pause: "….checking."

And again: "….checking what?"

And then inspiration finally struck: "….that you're asleep….. and that your blanket hasn't come off…." There was another pause during which Merlin glanced away from Arthur's face and down at his bare chest which was only inches away from him and then back up to meet Arthur's eyes again: "….which it clearly has now."

Arthur didn't have a clue whether to believe him or not, and with a perplexed look on his face he asked Merlin, "Is that really what you were doing?"

Merlin feigned a look of innocence and nodded. "Mmmm." He then paused again before asking, "Would you like me to tuck you back in?"

The suggestion had the desired effect and Arthur instantly let go of Merlin and recoiled in horror: "No thank you!"

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, before Merlin asked, "Can I go now then, sire?"

Arthur looked at Merlin warily again. "Please do…."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to…."

Arthur cut in rapidly, "Very sure!" and he watched his servant go with the same expression of wariness still on his face. When the door had finally closed behind Merlin, Arthur lay down on his mattress again, took his blanket, and then wrapped it around himself very tightly.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Lancelot was waiting for Merlin to return, and as the others slept on, he propped himself up on his elbow as the young warlock crept over and lay back down on his blanket. "Well?"

"Let's just say we'll just have to hope that Guinevere can work her magic instead!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The clear night had turned into a clear, bright morning, and after one of Merlin's camp breakfasts around a freshly stoked fire, the knights and Merlin discussed between themselves how they would proceed with Arthur that morning whilst they waited for Elyan to return with Gwen. It was quickly – and unanimously – decided that a smaller rather than larger number of them having another talk with Arthur was going to be best all round. Although it felt strange to admit it, the inescapable fact was that they were all still utterly unfamiliar to their prince, and a night's sleep probably would have done little to lessen the daunting truth that one day he would be king of a land of which he could remember nothing. Two rather than five of them would be much less intimidating to Arthur – leaving the question, of course, of which two. The knights looked around at each other pondering the question. It was Gwaine who spoke up first, to volunteer his services. But no sooner was the suggestion voiced, than the other four voices exclaimed in unison, "No!"

"A man could get offended," but none of the others were fooled by Gwaine's injured expression.

Percival shot him a wry smile. "Gwaine, mate – believe it or not, it's not _you_ getting offended that we're worried about!"

Gwaine countered, "I can be serious when I want to!"

But it was Merlin who replied this time with a little smile playing around his mouth as he spoke: "But the thing is, you never want to….."

And with that Gwaine leant back against the tree next to him, hands behind his head, with a big grin on his face. "Ah well, that's where you've got me, lads!"

And with Gwaine ruled out of the equation, it didn't take too much longer to come to a decision. Leon volunteered, as the one who had known Arthur longest, and none of the other objected. There was also something about Leon's calm manner that seemed entirely appropriate under the circumstances. All the knights (with the possible exception of Lancelot) were fully expecting Merlin to volunteer next, and were surprised when he didn't insist on being the other one of the two. The previous night's encounter had left Merlin with the distinct feeling that this Arthur was likely to view him with deep suspicion when they next met, and so when the others looked at him expectantly, he just mumbled something about _an unfortunate encounter,_ and Lancelot tried very hard to hide the little grin that was on his face - he had laughed loud and long when Merlin had privately related, in the morning, the precise details of his conversation with Arthur. Out of Percival and Lancelot, Percival was ruled out simply because of his size. Leon and Percival both stood several inches taller than Arthur, and it was felt that the two of them together could seem a little too daunting for their hesitant prince. So that left Lancelot – and the question of exactly what further information about his identity and role they should impart to Arthur.

The truth was, they didn't want to overburden – or scare – him with too many details, and when it came to it, the only real detail that Leon and Lancelot informed Arthur about (using as much tact as they could muster) was the fact that he was in love…. and that the girl who he was in love with was on her way. Lancelot, for obvious reasons, left most of the talking to Leon. Arthur sat in silence as Leon broke the news to him, and was initially dumb-founded – largely because of the news that she would shortly be in Esentor. He initially, of course, assumed that she would be a princess or a lady of nobility, and so he was surprised – although also somewhat relieved- to discover the truth about her status. In the end, he only came up with one question. He wanted, of course, to know what she was like, and began "Is she….," but then faltered, as a whole host of possible words tumbled through his mind - k_ind, beautiful, clever, witty, gentle, pretty, loyal, trustworthy? _But in the end, he completed his sentence by blurting out the single word, "… nice?" And Arthur was, at that moment, more like his old self than he realised. The other two simply looked at each other, grinned, and then looked back at Arthur as they said in unison, "Very!"

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

The sun was high in the sky by the time that Elyan and Gwen finally approached the village on horseback. Gwen was on the beautiful white horse that Arthur always chose for her, and she was dressed in the trousers and loose wrap that she often wore for travelling distances, and an extra horse – the one that Arthur usually rode - was following on behind, tethered to Elyan's mount. The knight slowed his horse to a stop, and Gwen followed his lead, looking at her brother for an explanation.

"The village is just up ahead now. You should get changed here."

In seconds, they were both standing besides their horses, and Gwen was removing a pack from behind her saddle. Their conversation continued as she found some privacy to exchange her travelling clothes for something more feminine.

Gwen's voice came from behind a tree: "So you don't think he'll recognise me?"

Elyan glanced over in the direction the voice had come from: "Probably not at first, if our experience is anything to go by. We're just hoping that if he spends some time with you, that may start to bring back his memories."

Gwen paused before voicing her fears. "What is he like now?"

Elyan also paused, giving himself time to choose his words carefully. "It's still the same Arthur we know, but…"

"But what…..?"

Elyan paused again, as if struggling to explain himself. "It's…. it's as if he's been stripped of all his usual confidence."

If it had been Merlin or Gwaine speaking, they would probably have added the words, _and arrogance._

But Elyan had more deference to his prince, and so simply continued, "I don't think I'd ever seen him nervous about anything before seeing him here. Be gentle with him."

Gwen's head appeared around the tree. "What, be gentle with the person who almost broke your nose yesterday?!"

Elyan gave her a little smile, "You'll see what I mean when you meet him."

Gwen then emerged, her transformation complete. It hadn't taken her long back in Camelot to decide what she was going to wear. It was the same simple but pretty dress that she had worn when Arthur had invited her to spend the day with him, and they had shared several wonderful hours in each other's company – before the nightmare of Uther discovering them together had begun.

Gwen turned her back to Elyan. "Could you fasten me up?"

He obliged, but the delicate little buttons were somewhat fiddly for hands that had been brought up doing the work of a blacksmith, and it actually took him longer than if she'd done it herself.

Elyan looked up at the back of his sister's head as he struggled with the small buttons and loops. "You love him very much, don't you?"

Gwen just nodded, suddenly finding herself with a lump in her throat.

Elyan finally finished his task, and said with a note of triumph in his voice, "There!"

Gwen turned round to face him, suddenly needing her brother's encouragement and affirmation: "How do I look?"

Elyan smiled with pride at her. "Beautiful!" And with that, he bent down and picked several wild flowers and without a word put them in her hair for her. "Just beautiful!"

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Arthur, Kay and Tilly were all standing inside the house, peering out through the window – although for Tilly, that also involved standing on a box so that she could see over the window-ledge. And as they watched, Gwen and Elyan came into view, both on horse-back again. Elyan pulled his horse up, not too far from the house, jumped off his mount, and then helped lift Gwen down from her horse. And all three in the house were transfixed by what seemed, to each of them, like a vision of beauty.

Kay tore his gaze away from the scene to look at Arthur. "And they told you that you and she are in love?"

Arthur just nodded without taking his eyes off Gwen. Kay turned his gaze back on the pair who had just arrived, and said with a smile, "It looks like being a prince does have some upsides to it after all!"

Tilly continued to look on in rapt wonder: Gwen on her white horse was, to her young mind, quite simply the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Again without taking her eyes of Gwen she asked in an awed voice. "Is she a princess?"

Arthur, still staring at Gwen, replied in a slightly distracted way, "No, apparently not, but she might as well be one….."

Kay finally looked at Arthur again, "How are you feeling?"

And Arthur finally turned and met his gaze: "Petrified….."

Outside, Merlin went over to greet the new arrivals as the rest of the knights remained standing by the large oak tree, against which Arthur had sat on many occasions. Merlin gave Gwen a warm embrance, "It's good to see you!"

When the two of them pulled apart again, Gwen smiled one of her sweet and genuine smiles, "And you!" She then paused and looked around the simple dwellings that made up the village. The previous two months had been the longest ones of her life. When she had heard the knock on her door in the middle of the night, she was immediately awake, and went over to the door, her heart pounding. A visitor like that in the middle of the night could only mean one thing – news of Arthur – and she could barely breath as she unlatched the door, knowing that it would mean one of two things – one of which would send her heart soaring, and the other of which would break it. The moment she saw the smile form on Elyan's face, she knew it was the former – and her heart did soar. So as she stood next to her brother and Merlin in the centre of the village, there was only one question on her mind, "So, where is he?"

Merlin nodded his head over in the direction of the house: "I think he's inside ….. hiding."

Gwen raised her eyebrows, "He's what?"

Merlin gave her a little grin, "I think you might have to go to him….."

Gwen cocked her head, slightly bemused, but then just said to the two young men with her, "Wish me luck!" And with that, she began to walk slowly over towards the house that Merlin had indicated.

The knights were all standing by the oak watching with great interest, intrigued as to how Arthur would respond to the encounter with the unknown love of his life. And they weren't disappointed. As they watched, they saw the door open and Arthur come lurching out through it. It was perfectly obvious to each of them that he has just been pushed out. They then watched as Arthur quickly tried to regain his footing and composure, glancing around him self-consciously as he did, and he finally started walking somewhat hesitantly towards Gwen.

Gwaine had a large grin on his face once more: "You know, if you forget for a moment just how serious this all is, it's really quite entertaining!"

As Gwen watched Arthur walking towards her, a wave of emotion swept over her – it felt like an eternity since she had seen him and held him, and she had to fight the urge to simply run over and fling her arms around him and hold him tight. But she could already see the lack of recognition written large in his expression, and so she quickly composed herself for the task ahead. But things were not to go as either of them had anticipated. The door had been left open behind Arthur, and Tilly suddenly darted out through it. Everyone heard Kay yell "COME BACK!" at her, which was followed immediately by him running out after his little sister (realising the futility of his command) and he tried in vain to grab her. But Tilly – keen not to miss out on the opportunity to meet this princess - had already reached Arthur and put her right hand in his left, and so Kay, realising he had totally failed in his attempt to apprehend her, suddenly stopped and stood a little way off from them. Gwen raised her eyebrows once again in disbelief at the sight of Arthur now walking towards her holding the hand of a small girl. This was certainly an Arthur she had not seen before! The two stopped when they were finally only a couple of paces from each other, with Tilly looking wonderingly up at Gwen. It wasn't difficult for Gwen to sense Arthur's nervousness and so she smiled at him gently and warmly.

"Hello, I'm Guinevere….. but most people call me Gwen."

Arthur's reply was not exactly how he'd intended his opening words to her to be: "I'm Will…. I mean Arthur…" And then it only took a moment for him to realise the idiocy of what he'd just said – caused in no small measure, by his nerves. He felt mortified, and it clearly showed in the expression on his face as he said with a certain amount of embarrassment "…but of course, you already know that."

Gwen, however, continued smiling at him, and she began to understand his plight. "It must be very confusing for you… "

Arthur fixed his gaze on the floor, still feeling he'd already made a fool of himself (again), and there was a slight awkward pause. Gwen, however, was blessed with a quiet wisdom and perception, and she saw right in front of her the perfect opportunity to put Arthur at his ease, and she crouched down to speak to Tilly.

"And who is this beautiful little lady?"

Tilly smiled shyly at her, and Arthur immediately relaxed slightly and smiled, feeling that anyone who liked Tilly couldn't be all bad.

Gwen continued, "What's your name? I expect it's something really pretty, like you!"

Tilly giggled a little, still holding Arthur's hand tightly, and said in a shy voice, "Tilda, but everyone calls me Tilly."

Gwen gave her a beautiful, warm smile: "Well, Tilly, I think that's a very lovely name."

Tilly giggled again and smiled back at her, and when Gwen stood back up again and looked at Arthur, she found that he was also by now smiling at her. Arthur suddenly, however, remembered the presence of Kay nearby, and he gestured towards him. "And this is Kay – Tilly's brother."

And with that Kay stepped forward, and Arthur noticed with a certain amount of satisfaction that Kay was also nervous. Despite having been told that she wasn't a princess, Kay still felt the need to bow slightly to her, "My lady, " causing Gwen to give a little laugh, "You can just call me Gwen!"

There was another slight awkward pause, as they all stood wondering what to do next. Again, it was Gwen who took the initiative. "Well, Arthur, maybe we could go for a little walk together and you could show me around?"

Before he could answer, however, a little, excited voice piped up, eager not to miss out, "Can I come too?"

Arthur and Kay both answered Tilly's question simultaneously, exclaiming "Yes!" and "No!" respectively. Another awkward little pause followed, but Gwen again knew instinctively what to do. She smiled down at the excited little girl, "I think it would be lovely if you came with us Tilly. Maybe you could hold my hand as well…" And with that Gwen held out her right hand to take Tilly's free, left hand, so that she and Arthur could walk together, with Tilly in between them. And Arthur stole a glance over at Gwen – he was already totally smitten.

And as the young couple began their walk, accompanied by Tilly, Merlin and the knights continued to look on in mild amusement. Gwaine stood with his arms folded and, without taking his eyes of the three of them, announced to Elyan, "You do realise, of course, that there's a risk of your sister becoming broody if she stays here too long?"

_**Author's note**_

_**Ideally I would have put the conversation that is just about to happen between Arthur and Guinevere in this chapter, but it's late! And so I'll just post it as it stands – the next part may be a couple of days coming.**_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It didn't take long for Arthur to show Gwen all there was to see in Esentor. And it felt very strange to them both to be walking and talking as they were – both acutely aware of the imbalance between them, with Gwen knowing so much about the two of them, both as individuals and a couple, and Arthur knowing neither. Tilly, for the most part, just walked happily between them, looking up occasionally at Arthur or Gwen, and Gwen listened politely to the information that, in truth, neither of them was particularly interested in when there were so many unspoken and pressing questions that were filling both of their minds. And finally, when Arthur had exhausted all he had to say about the small village and the land around it, he glanced at Gwen again, and said, "I know there's not a great deal to see… but it's all I know – well, this and probably no more than an hour's walk in each direction." He looked away and down again as he continued, "Nothing compared to a place like Camelot, I'm sure."

Gwen gently asked, "You remember nothing of it?"

And without looking up, Arthur gave a little shake of his head, and it seemed to Gwen as if a great sadness had suddenly descended on him, which he voiced with the words, "And I'm so sorry I don't remember you."

The feelings of impotence and ignorance that arose from his lack of memory had reared their heads again, but this time, Arthur made a decision to shake them off – and to turn his attention to something that was of greater interest at that moment than the loss of his memory. He lifted his head, and turned to look at Gwen again, and studied her for a moment before speaking. She smiled encouragingly at him, and he could see why he – his other self, the person he still didn't remember – would like her. She did seem very "nice"... although that word seemed wholly inadequate to describe someone of such beauty and kindness. A little worrying thought raised its head just before he spoke however – _would __she__ still like __him__, when he was no longer the same prince she had fallen in love with?_ He quickly banished the question and asked instead the one that he had been intending to ask. "So how long have we been courting?"

Gwen paused for a moment as she tried to work out the answer to what was, in truth, a more difficult question than Arthur would have guessed. "It's hard to say exactly – it's been complicated. But we've known each other all lives." She paused again, realising her need to qualify her remark, and Arthur could see the laughter in her eyes as she raised her eyebrows slightly as she said, "Well, I've known you all my life certainly!" And with each word she said, his heart and his mood seemed to lighten. Gwen continued, "We both grew up in Camelot….," and she smiled as she explained the next little detail of her past: "….I think I was in awe of you when I was a little girl. Your father dressed you as a knight of Camelot, even when you were young, and….," - she spoke laughingly as she went on - "….when I saw you coming along the street I'd run inside and watch you from the behind the door!"

Arthur smiled at this picture in his mind, and then added wryly, "And now it seems the tables have been turned…"

Gwen stole a glance at Arthur, and was pleased to see the little smile that had finally made its way onto his face. The fact was that Arthur was beginning to enjoy Gwen's company and was, as a result, also beginning to relax and feel more confident about meeting her eyes. He went on, "I was certainly in awe of you when I saw you earlier, Gwen."

As he looked at her, however, he caught the funny little expression that suddenly came to her face as he spoke, and it was obvious to him that she was not telling him something. "What is it?"

"You're the only person who tends to call me Guinevere…"

Arthur looked puzzled: "Why do I do that?"

It was then that Gwen actually laughed out loud, causing Tilly to look questioningly up at her, "I don't know! I've never asked you."

Tilly finally decided that she had something to add to this adult conversation, and she piped up suddenly, picking up on Gwen's words earlier, "Because it's a pretty name, like you."

Arthur smiled down at the young girl, who was still holding both of their hands: "Good answer, Tilly! I think you're right!"

This caused a broad smile to light up her face, and she gazed up at Gwen, though the mind of the not-quite-four year old couldn't fully cope with either Arthur's new name or the longer version of Gwen's: "I think William likes you, Gwennie!"

The two on either side of her both smiled, and once again stole little looks at each other. As they walked along in silence - but at ease with each other - for a while, a question came to Gwen's mind. Would she have fallen in love with this Arthur – the one who wasn't the noble first knight of Camelot and its heroic prince? And she smiled to herself, as she answered her own question – _if anything, she may possibly have fallen in love with this Arthur sooner_. _Maybe this was what the real Arthur was like, the Arthur who was stripped of all that the role of being prince and heir to the throne of Camelot imposed upon him, and free from the barriers that his title and position erected between himself and all those around him. Maybe this, more gentle, Arthur was how he would have been, had he actually grown up in a more normal existence with a loving family around him. _

But any further musing on her question was brought to an abrupt halt when Gwen saw Arthur's smile fade, and the troubled expression returned to his face once more. Arthur had also been doing his own thinking, and he suddenly stopped, wanting to voice something but needing Gwen to be able to speak freely and openly. The other two, still linked to him through their hands, also stopped, and Arthur put on a smile and crouched down to speak to Tilly, pointing to some flowers that were several paces away. "Look, Tilly, do you see those flowers over there? I think it would be lovely if you went over and picked some for Guinevere. Do you think you could do that?"

She nodded happily and ran off, and when she was out of immediate earshot, Gwen looked at him enquiringly, as he blurted out his fear with a look of pleading on his face. "Please be honest with me, Guinevere - what sort of a man am I? I know I have killed many…. "

Gwen paused once again in order to choose the right words, understanding the fear that lay behind Arthur's question. And when she spoke, it was firmly and gently, but with a quite passion in her voice: "Arthur – I have never known you to kill anyone, except when you have to and when there is reason, and that reason has always been to protect your people and to stop those who are evil."

Arthur looked down at his feet, feeling ashamed of the blood that was on his hands, "And does that make it right?"

"It does to those whose lives you have saved – and there are many, including mine which you have saved more than once."

Arthur was still not entirely convinced, and he thought for a moment before speaking again. "But am I am tyrant like my father?"

Gwen gave a little laugh at the incongruity of the question. "Arthur, you are so different from your father!" The tone in her voice made Arthur look up at her, and when Gwen continued, she was able to say her next words with pride, looking into his eyes; "You asked what sort of man you are. Arthur, you are the best man I have ever known. You have such a good heart. You are fair and kind, and you care about your people more than about yourself. Again and again you have risked your life to help and save others. You are strong and courageous and your people are proud of you and love you….. and it is why I love you, Arthur! And you have made me so happy by giving me your love in return, even though I am just a servant."

And when Arthur looked down again, it was because there was a little bashful smile on his face. "It sounds a lot to live up to….. I'm not sure I can be that man."

"You will be, when you remember!"

Arthur gave a little non-committal grunt at this, but any further exchanges on the topic were prevented for a moment by the return of Tilly, with several crumpled flowers in her hand. Gwen crouched down to take the gift that Tilly proudly held out to her. "Those are lovely, Tilly, thank you!" and her gratitude caused the young girl to beam back at both her and Arthur.

When Gwen had straightened up again, the three of them resumed their walk, once again with Tilly in-between. Arthur finished their topic of conversation with the comment, "Thank you for your kind words. I feared I might be a monster."

Gwen smiled warmly back at him, but Tilly interjected "But you are a monster sometimes William!"

Gwen raised her eyebrows, and looked quizzically at Arthur, who gave a little laugh as he explained, "It's a game….."

Gwen turned her attention to Tilly, "Well, in real life, Tilly, he's not a monster, but he does fight them!" causing the young girl to look up at him, wide-eyed.

When Arthur spoke, there was an incredulous tone in his exclamation, "Please tell me you're joking!"

Gwen laughed, "I'm not! Dragons and gryphons and trolls and others - and you've lived to tell the tale. You're quite the hero!"

Arthur also laughed as he replied, "Please! I've had quite enough expectation laid on me for one day!" They both walked on in silence for a while, but both had little smiles on their faces. It was Arthur who was the first to break the silence again. "It's very strange, you knowing everything about me – far, far more about me than I know myself. So tell me about you, Guinevere - I want to know."

"There's not a great deal to tell – at least before we started courting. I grew up in Camelot where my father was the blacksmith. My mother worked for Sir Leon's family…."

Arthur interrupted, "The same Leon who's here?"

Gwen nodded. "Yes, I also knew him well as I grew up. But my mother died a little while after Elyan was born….."

Arthur interrupted again, "Do you mean Sir Elyan?"

Gwen gave a little sigh and shook her head, and then asked in a slightly exasperated tone, "Did they not tell you that Elyan was my brother?!"

Arthur also shook his head, and Gwen made a mental note to berate the knights of Camelot for their disgraceful oversight. She then continued, "Anyway, it was just the three of us for the rest of my childhood. I learned to be a seamstress as I grew up, but when I was old enough to work, I was given a position of service in the royal household and have worked there ever since." The fact that she had served Morgana, Arthur's half sister, seemed a painful detail that Arthur didn't need to know at that point – as was the fact that Uther had been responsible for her father's death. She also omitted the fact that Uther also had almost put her to death because of her relationship with him. Gwen wisely didn't want to cause Arthur any pain that was unnecessary, and so she went on instead to describe more about general life in Camelot's court, and Arthur listened with rapt attention, although that was actually more to do with the person who was speaking than his interest in what she was saying.

When Gwen had finally shared as much of her story as she felt was wise and had fallen silent, Arthur commented, "We're almost back at the village – it's just over this little ridge."

Gwen looked down at the little girl between them, and then back up at Arthur: "Is it alright for Tilly to go back by herself from here?"

Arthur nodded: "Yes, she plays here all the time."

Gwen once more crouched down to be on the same level as her, and held out the little posy of crumpled flowers towards her: "Tilly, do you think you could take these flowers back to your house and put them in water for me, please?"

Tilly nodded happily, took the flowers and wandered off, leaving Gwen and Arthur alone. Arthur began to feel slightly nervous, but only because he was alone with a beautiful lady who he was, by this time, totally smitten by. Gwen stepped closer to Arthur, and he felt his heart beginning to pound in his chest as she laid her hands on his arms and looked up into his face. And very gently, she smiled and reached up slightly towards him, as she said, "May I?"

Arthur gave a little nod, and with that, both of them closed their eyes, as their lips made contact. And to him it felt like the first kiss he'd ever had, and there was something about this beautiful woman that left him feeling giddy inside. And for Gwen it _did_ feel like their very first kiss again. She always treasured that moment in her memory: the time when Arthur had suddenly and unexpectedly kissed her with such tenderness and feeling, finally acknowledging his feelings for her that had been growing over a period of time. And now here he was again, kissing her with the same tenderness but also the same uncertainty as to what to do with his feelings for her. But Gwen was also thinking of another kiss – another one she treasured, but which had also freed him from the enchantment that had compelled him to fall in love with the Lady Vivien. And she desperately hoped that this kiss might have a similar effect.

When they both finally opened their eyes again, Gwen continued to look up into his eyes, and Arthur knew that she was searching for a look of recognition - but his memory continued to remain closed, and he looked down at the ground, with his brow furrowed; "I'm sorry, I still don't remember…."

Gwen hid her disappointment, and smiled encouragingly back at him instead, "Don't worry, Arthur, it will come back to you."

But Arthur looked up suddenly, with a deeply troubled look in his eyes, as he finally voiced his deepest fear to her: "What if it doesn't? What if I never remember?"

Once again, Gwen paused to choose her words before speaking tenderly to him: "….then we can start again from the beginning….. if you'd like that."

The troubled look on Arthur's face gradually melted away, and was replaced instead with a little smile, "I think I'd like that very much."

They stood silently for a moment, looking at one another, and then began to bend forward to kiss again, but at the moment their lips touched there was, however, a little rustle of leaves and a giggle. They both suddenly pulled away from each other, and Arthur sighed before putting on a jokey, scolding voice, and going over to where the giggle came from: "And I thought you were meant to be going back to the house!"

Tilly duly emerged with a little grin on her face, "I saw you kiss Gwennie! Are you going to marry her?"

Arthur decided that the best way to avoid her embarrassing question was to change the subject entirely. "Do you know what, Tilly? I think there might just be some … MONSTERS!"

And that was enough to start Tilly screaming happily and running away from him, and as the youngster was pursued by Arthur, Gwen smiled to herself. She definitely liked this Arthur!

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

As Arthur and Gwen walked back into the village, looking happy and relaxed with each other, Edric and Helma looked on as they stood near the entrance to their house. They had been attending to a sick neighbour's animals when Gwen arrived, and had had to be updated by Kay on all that had happened since her arrival. As the three walked towards the house, Tilly was, by this point, riding on Arthur's shoulders, and putting all her concentration into messing up his hair with her hands, and Gwen, for her part, was still clutching the small posy of crumpled flowers. Helma smiled as she looked at what could have been a young family together, and slipped her arm around Edric's: "It suits our young prince," and Edric squeezed her arm in agreement.

But they were not the only ones watching Arthur and Gwen with interest. Merlin glanced at the knights, with a smile on his face: "Now this looks more hopeful!" But as Gwen came closer, she caught Merlin's eye, and gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head that Arthur wouldn't notice. The smile faded from Merlin's face, and he sighed deeply, turning away to face Lancelot, and shaking his head. Lancelot lowered his voice, and spoke quietly to Merlin, so that the others couldn't hear. "What are we going to do?"

There was a look of deep concern on Merlin's face: "I don't know…," and he then paused as he turned over various courses of action in his mind. Then – having decided upon one – he nodded to himself. ". ….. but I know someone who might! I'll be back as soon as I can." And with that he slipped off surreptitiously, before anyone would notice.

_**Author's note**_

_**Sting in the tail approaching….**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kilgharrah had sat and listened patiently to Merlin's theories after the dragonlord had summoned him to Odin's territory. The last time they had spoken, Merlin had been asking - or rather begging - the dragon concerning Arthur's whereabouts shortly after his disappearance, but despite the dragon's ability to cover many leagues in not much more than the blink of an eye, it still remained the case that finding just one individual across the five kingdoms was like looking for a needle in a haystack – and Kilgharrah had told him so. He'd also told Merlin that it was therefore the efforts on the ground of the warlock and the knights of Camelot that was probably going to be the only way of them finding Arthur – if he was still alive, although the dragon nevertheless still seemed to sense that that was the case, and Merlin had agreed.

After laying out all that had happened over the previous day, and the ideas that he had shared with the knights as they had spoken around the fire the night before, Merlin finally concluded everything he had to say with the words, "So do you think I'm right about what's happened?"

The dragon lowered its head slightly to talk to him: "Indeed I do, young warlock."

Merlin drew in a breath, and exhaled slowly. "I'm just glad that Arthur's still alive."

"You must be thankful that the witch's plan has, in some measure, been thwarted because she failed to take account of what she cannot understand any more."

"Human love and kindness?"

The dragon nodded. "That strangers could take Arthur in and care for him as they have done was something that she could not and did not foresee."

Merlin was thoughtful for a moment before he continued, "I know you've said that my weakness is wanting to see the good in everyone. Maybe hers is the opposite – failing to see good in anyone."

The dragon cocked his head slightly. He had seen Merlin mature so much in the years since he had first summoned him, and it gave him great pleasure to see Merlin becoming the great man that he was both prophesied and destined to be. "You know, young warlock, I am beginning to think that you have grown in wisdom and understanding so much that you will not be needing my help for much longer."

Merlin replied with both urgency and feeling in his voice, "Well, I need it now!"

The dragon lowered its head once more as it spoke. "What you have described is, I am sure, the use of magic from the old religion. There is a spell that does indeed lock away memories, and it was used in the beginning as a blessing, so that great pain could be forgotten when time could not heal the anguish of the past. But then there were those who twisted its purpose, and began to use it to cover their own crimes or to cruelly steal from a person all memories of their past, robbing them of the lives they had led, and now the spell has long been the preserve only of those who only practice magic for dark means."

Merlin sighed. "Like Morgana."

"That the witch has used this magic to close all the doors in Arthur's memory is not in doubt."

"So how do I open them?"

"The reason that this particular spell was and is so potent, is that the magic not only closes those doors, but closes them for good, and no magic can open them again."

Merlin looked appalled. "What? Are you saying that Arthur will never regain his memories?"

"Patience, young warlock. I said no magic can restore them. I did not say it cannot be done."

Merlin never ceased to feel a certain frustration about Kilgharrah's seemingly constant habit for beating about the bush, and there was an edge of impatience in his voice when he spoke again. "So what can do it then? We've tried the whole kissing thing and that didn't work this time."

The dragon studied Merlin intently for a moment, before he spoke: "There is one thing and one thing alone that will open the doors to all his memories."

"And what's that?"

"Death!"

There was a look of horror on Merlin's face, and he was momentarily lost for words. "What?! Are you saying we have to kill Arthur?"

Over the years, Merlin had never quite got used to a sixty foot dragon sighing – it was a strange phenomenon – and when Kilgharrah answered him, there was a slightly weariness in his voice: "Merlin, even I do not think that that would be a suitable remedy to this problem. You must not kill the young Pendragon, but you will have to bring him to the point of death."

Merlin gave a little shake of his head. "Somehow I don't think that this Arthur is going to particularly like that idea."

"But he must not know."

Merlin was already beginning to grow extremely anxious about what the dragon was suggesting, and he asked warily, "What do you mean?"

"Arthur's mind must not only know that he is coming to the point of death – he must also believe that he IS going to die. For then, and only then, will his mind fully open and only then will he see the memories of his whole life passing before him."

Merlin feared the answer that he might get to his next question, and so it was with a growing apprehension that he voiced it: "So how are we going to do that?"

"There is a simple way…"

"Go on….."

"You must take Arthur down to the river…."

It only took a moment for Merlin to understand what Kilgharrah was suggesting – and it filled him once again with horror: "NO! I will not do that to Arthur!"

The dragon spoke softly in a tone that Merlin recognised all too well: "I said it was simple, I did not say that it would be easy."

Merlin had begun to breathe rapidly, and he shook his head, as he replied with some force, "No! No! I will not do it."

As he had done many times before, Kilgharrah ignored Merlin and continued speaking, "You must take Arthur down to the river, and it will need all of you. You will need to take him by surprise, for he is likely to resist you. You are still strangers to him, and he will believe that you intend to take his life when you force him down into the water. "

But Merlin wasn't ready to accept the plan he was being presented with, and once again he shook his head and flatly refused to do what he was being told to do: "No. I can't do that to Arthur, I can't."

But this time when the dragon spoke, there was a greater gentleness in his voice. Despite his insistence on the course of action, he also understood the terrible burden he was laying on Merlin's shoulders. "Young Warlock, believe me when I say that it is the only way for his memories to be restored."

Merlin continued to shake his head, but then paused, and looked down at the ground, and when he asked his next question, he spoke with a dull tone. "How long for?"

"Whilst his struggling continues, you cannot be sure that you have taken him far enough. You must wait until all his struggling stops and he becomes still – it is only then that you can know for certain that you have brought him close enough to death for his memories to be unlocked. You will then have a short time to revive him before his spirit leaves his body."

Merlin was silent for several moments, as he turned over in his mind all that the dragon had said. "But if I don't do what you're saying, Arthur will still become king…..?"

"Oh yes, but without all that life has taught him, without his experience and without the lessons he has learned with you, he will not be the great king that he is destined to be, and it is by no means clear how long he will survive the challenges that come. Merlin, Arthur's future and that of Albion lie in your hands. It is you who must decide what those futures will be."

And without a further word, the dragon rose to its feet, spread out its wings, and launched itself up into the air, leaving Merlin standing with his head hung low.

~~~~~ O ~~~~~

Merlin sat beside the river, looking out on its waters as they flowed gently by. On the opposite side of the river, the ground fell away sharply down to the river, giving a fairly steep bank, but on the side where Merlin was sitting, the water became gradually shallower, until it came up onto a gently sloping area covered in small stones. As Merlin sat on the grass a little way above the pebble shore, watching the water, the decision that he had to make weighed heavily upon him, and there was a troubled expression on the face of the young man. He was so deeply engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Gwen, as she came up alongside him. She, more than any of the others, had noticed his absence.

"Merlin?"

Although he knew immediately who it was who had spoken, he didn't answer her or turn to look at her but continued looking out at the river.

"We were beginning to wonder where you were. Are you alright?" When Merlin still didn't answer, Gwen gathered up her skirts and sat down close beside him, and as she turned to look at him, she could immediately see the unease on his face. "You're thinking about Arthur, aren't you?"

Merlin nodded slowly, still not saying a word, as he struggled with the conflict that was going on inside him. But eventually he spoke, still not meeting Gwen's eyes: "What if you knew how to restore Arthur's memories, but that to do that, you had to do something terrible to him, something so terrible that it made your blood run cold just to think of it?"

There was something about the flat tone of Merlin's voice and his words that struck fear into Gwen's heart, and she began to look apprehensive and worried as she let Merlin continue.

"And what if you also knew that if you didn't do that…..that terrible thing - then Arthur would never be the great king that he would otherwise be? What would you do?"

They both sat in silence, looking out on the river, and when Gwen finally answered, there was determination as well as fear on her face and in her voice. "I think I would ask myself what Arthur – the Arthur we know - would want us to do."

Once again, a silence hung over them both for what felt like an eternity, and then Merlin nodded his head to himself as he drew in another deep breath, before letting it out slowly.

Gwen continued, "And I think we know the answer to that, don't we?"

Merlin nodded once again, and with a look of deep concern and apprehension etched on her face, Gwen finally asked the question the answer to which she feared; "What do we have to do?"


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's note:**_

**_Sorry for the long delay since the last chapter - one word - Christmas!_**

Chapter 12

When Gwen had suggested another walk together to Arthur – this time without Tilly – he was only too keen to oblige, and it was late in the afternoon by the time the two of them wandered down to little pebbled area by the river, near to where Gwen had found Merlin sitting earlier. Even though he'd only just met her (at least that's how it felt to Arthur), any time spent with this lady who clearly had deep feelings for him was enough to quicken his heart, and it was only the fact that Arthur's attention was temporarily diverted by the beauty of the sunshine on the river that prevented him from noticing straight away that Gwen had become somewhat distracted as they reached the water's edge. Arthur turned to her, smiling: "It was a good idea of yours to come down here. It's so peaceful….."

Gwen nodded slightly: "Mmmm…."

Arthur paused to study the face of the young woman, and he began looking at Gwen with some concern. "Are you alright - you seem a little anxious?"

Gwen gave a forced smile, and tried to shake it off. "Do I? It's probably just tiredness. It was an early start and a long ride this morning."

Arthur smiled warmly at her once again as he laid his hand gently on her arm, "It was kind of you to come," but before he had the chance to say anything more, Merlin and the knights came into view, walking down the bank towards them both. Arthur sighed with good natured exasperation, withdrew his hand, and joked with a smile, "We seem destined to be interrupted! I wonder what they want."

Gwen gave a nervous little nod, and tried her best to sound matter of fact as she added, "We'll find out soon I'm sure."

It had taken a great deal of skill on Merlin's part to convince the knights of what they had to do. Gwen trusted Merlin implicitly when it came to Arthur's well-being – and she had the same trust in Gaius. And it was to the elderly physician that Merlin appealed when making his case to the knights. He attributed most of what Kilgharrah had told him about how to restore Arthur's memory to _a conversation that he and Gaius had once had _(making a mental note to inform Gaius of this "conversation" as soon as they got back to Camelot, in case any of the knights should ever choose to ask him about it). And in addition to this, Merlin had done two other things to strengthen his case. Firstly, he'd explained the fact that he hadn't spoken of the idea before by stating that he'd seen it as a last resort, and he'd wanted them to try everything else possible first. Secondly, he'd primed Lancelot, so that when he brought it up with them, Lancelot corroborated his story, saying that he had also heard of a similar thing being done before. And when Gwen had added, unprompted, that she believed that Arthur would want them to do anything that would restore his memory – however drastic – the case was strengthened further, as they all knew without a doubt that her care for Arthur could not be greater. And gradually the knights were won over, and all had eventually agreed – albeit reluctantly - although Leon had been the last to be convinced.

None of the knights were smiling as they drew alongside the couple, and Arthur noticed it. So there was a perplexed expression on his face as he glanced enquiringly at each of them, but none of them would look him in the eye. Arthur turned towards Gwen as if looking for some explanation, but when she too fixed her eyes on the ground, he turned back to the knights, mystified by their silence as well as by their expressions: "Did you want something?" Arthur was standing with his back to the river, and suddenly and before he realised what was happening, Leon and Lancelot stepped forward and each swiftly locked one of their arms around one of his upper arms, both of them grim-faced as they faced the water behind the prince.

Arthur glanced from one to the other, his confusion giving way to indignation: "What are you doing? Let go of me!"

But instead of replying, the two knights started to move forwards, dragging Arthur slowly backwards into the shallow water. The others, still in stony silence and not meeting his eyes, walked beside him. He began to struggle to keep his footing as they continued to pull him backwards, and he exclaimed with a growing anger, "Let me go!" But despite Arthur's efforts to break free, Leon and Lancelot combined were too strong for him, and as they continued to drag him through the water, Arthur looked in bewilderment over to the one person he really trusted – Guinevere – and called out her name.

Merlin was, by this time, at her side and stood close to her with a hand on her shoulder. The sight of Arthur being forced further into the water against his will – and knowing what was coming next – was more than she could bear, and as Arthur looking imploringly at her, she turned away from him and clung to Merlin. Arthur therefore never saw the tears that she started to shed as he called out to her one last time, "GUINEVERE!"

As his cry was deliberately ignored, a cold fear suddenly gripped his heart as the real intention of the knights began to dawn on him. Arthur began to panic and struggle wildly as they continued to drag him into ever deeper water, though his resistance was futile, particularly as he continued to find it almost impossible to keep his feet planted on the riverbed beneath him. And he began to plead with them. "No! NO! Please let me go!" He knew that there was only one person who might possibly be able to help him, and so he cried out as loud as he could as his panic grew: "Kay! KAY!"

All that the knights and Gwen had told him, everything about his supposed true identity seemed to be thrown into question again, and he implored them with a growing alarm in his voice, "Why are doing this to me? What have I done? Please tell me! However I've wronged you, I'll make amends. I'm begging you, don't do this!"

But all of the knights were steeling themselves, trying to blank their ears to Arthur's pleading, and each of them fixed their eyes on the water, the trees, the sky – anything but on Arthur and his ever increasing distress. As they continued to compel Arthur further into the water, they had to use more and more force to counter his efforts to break free, and each of them tried to divorce his mind from what they were actually doing – an act that, although well-intentioned, felt like a terrible betrayal which went against all that they stood for. The knights' code seemed utterly at odds with inflicting terror and something horribly close to a dreadful death on a young man who wasn't an enemy or stranger, but their prince and their friend.

When the water was around their knees and deep enough for their purpose, Leon gave a quick nod to Gwaine who, without warning, wrapped his arms around Arthur's legs, just below his knees, completely immobilising him. Arthur was by this time frantic and terrified as Lancelot and Leon began to push him backwards towards the water.

Once more Arthur desperately begged for his life, "Please! NO! Don't do this to me!" and then he cried out one last time in terror before they pushed him below the surface: "KAY!"

Elyan joined Gwaine in holding Arthur's legs down, and all four knights reached down beneath the water to pin Arthur to the riverbed, whilst Percival stood guard by them all. Feeling Arthur desperately struggling against their grip only increased the distress of each the knights. No battle or conflict they had been through had ever caused them such a feeling of dishonour, and all of them looked away or bowed their heads or simply closed their eyes as they continued with their grim task. Guinevere's sense of having betrayed the man she loved was barely less than theirs, and his desperate pleading had torn her heart. She couldn't bear to think of the terrible ordeal he was going through, and everything in her wanted to scream out that she'd changed her mind and to let him go, and it was only Merlin standing with his arms tightly around her, comforting and reassuring her, that prevented her resolve from crumbling completely. But Merlin's words weren't just for Gwen, as he whispered just as much to himself, "Sshhh, Sshhh, it won't be long. It'll be over soon…."

Arthur's cries hadn't entirely fallen on deaf ears, however. Kay had not been far away, and as soon as he'd heard Arthur calling his name, he'd run as fast as he could towards the river, the utter desperation in Arthur's last cry striking fear into his own heart. As he emerged from the trees and saw the strangers from Camelot, he couldn't for a moment piece together what was happening, and he glanced around looking for his friend. "Where is he? What have you done with him?"

But then his blood ran cold as he realised the reason why he couldn't see Arthur, and with that awful realisation he began screaming at them as he ran at full tilt down into the river: "NO! NO! LET HIM GO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

But the knights had left nothing to chance, and leaving Percival to stand guard was exactly for such an eventuality. The towering knight moved swiftly towards Kay as he came crashing through the water, and Percival grabbed the young man in his arms in a vice-like grip. And despite Kay's wild struggling, he was no match for Percival's size and strength. But Kay's screaming continued, though now his voice was distorted not only by fury but also by sobbing, and as tears streamed down his face, the words he flung out stabbed at the hearts of each of the knights: "LIARS! MURDERERS! LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO YOU MURDERERS!" And Kay's desperate but vain efforts to break free above the water perfectly matched the struggle going on beneath its surface.

Arthur's chest was already filled with a crushing pain which was, with each passing second, made worse by his exertion, and every part of his body screamed for air. But the grip of the knights was too strong and their combined strength meant that his efforts were never anything other than wholly inadequate and utterly futile – although that did not for one moment stop him putting every ounce of his strength into trying, as his instinct to survive and his desperate desire to breathe forced him on. Time and again he jolted his body against the hands that were pinning him down, and time and again any slight movement on his part was met with renewed pressure being brought down on his limbs. And alongside his terror, the only thing he knew was a desperate desire to survive, to live, to breathe. But his captors were unrelenting, and with each second that slipped by he knew he was moving inexorably towards the point when his body's irrepressible reflex to inhale would finally overcome his mind's resolve not to.

But when that moment came and just as he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had finally lost the battle and that his end was upon him, it happened. It was as if a floodgate in his mind had been suddenly opened, and every memory of his life suddenly rushed in. And in that instant he saw it all: the towers of Camelot rising before him, the beasts and the men he had faced in battle, the face of his father, stern but proud, Merlin joking with him, Guinevere's face close to his, with the sweetest look of anticipation in her eyes, and then the image of the last thing he had seen before his memories had been stolen from him: Morgana's cruel sneer as she said "goodbye dear brother" and her eyes changing colour. And as the memories flooded his mind as the water tried to flood his body, Arthur also suddenly understood perfectly the knight's purpose. He wanted to scream out to them that he knew who he was now, that they could let go, that they could release their iron grip on him. But in his watery nightmare he had no voice, no way of letting them know – and besides, he knew it was too late, as the icy darkness rolled up and over him, engulfing him completely and extinguishing all his thoughts, all his terror, all his pain and every last effort to break free.

The knights all felt it at the same time – Arthur's desperate but weak final jolt and then nothing.

It was Lancelot who barked out the command "NOW!" which resulted in four pairs of hands simultaneously hauling Arthur above the water. They then began their short but desperate run for the shore carrying the pale and limp body of the Prince, their legs straining with every stride against the resistance of the water. At the same time, Percival let go of Kay and also began running to the shore, imploring the young man as he did, "Help us Kay!"

For a moment Kay stood looking around him, shocked and stunned, not knowing what was happening or what to do, and as he hesitated, the knights finally reached dry ground and almost threw Arthur's body down onto the small grassy bank by the river's edge. Merlin and Gwen were already waiting for them there, and Merlin immediately took control – and none of the knights questioned his instructions.

"QUICK! Roll him onto his front. Get as much water out of him as you can!"

And as soon as Arthur was lying face down, Gwaine pushed down hard several times on his back, in an attempt to force out any water in his lungs.

"Now onto his side!" and several hands rolled the motionless prince over again.

Merlin began, in deadly earnest, to slap Arthur's face – gently at first, but then more insistently. "Come on, Arthur. COME ON!" But there was no response.

It wasn't the fact that Arthur wasn't conscious that caused Merlin's blood to once again run cold – it was the terrible stillness of his body – the stillness that he had seen so many times before with Gaius, just before the sheet was drawn up and over a body.

Merlin began to shake him by the shoulders whilst urgently calling his name, and Lancelot said out loud what they could all clearly see: "It's not working! He's still not breathing."

Gwen stood watching the frantic activity, whispering quietly to herself as she continued to cry: "Come on Arthur, please, breathe! Please, for me…"

And as Merlin began to slap Arthur's face once more, Elyan voiced the fear that was in each of their hearts: "We left it too long! We've killed him!"

And all Merlin could do was hold on to his belief in Arthur's destiny: "No…..no! We can't have done!" But still the terrible stillness persisted.

Merlin's mind was racing. The fact was that he really didn't have a clue what he was doing, and he couldn't think of a single spell that would possibly help the situation. It had seemed so simple when the dragon had said it: "_you will have a short time to revive him before his spirit leaves his body."_ _Why on earth hadn't he asked that simple question: "how?"_ _How could he have been so stupid, so careless?_

Merlin knew he could once again summon Kilgharrah – he knew there would be no point in continuing to maintain the secret of his true identity if Arthur died as a result - but it could take minutes for him to arrive, and that was time that they didn't have. Merlin began to panic, and as he glanced around at the others – none of whom had any better idea of what to do than he did – he could see the desperate looks on all their faces which mirrored how he was feeling inside. But when help finally came, it was from an unexpected source.

Kay had stood watching them in utter confusion – he couldn't understand why they had done what they had done to Arthur, but what he could now see was the knight's care and concern for him. Despite having appeared as though they wanted to kill him, they were now willing him to live, and Kay could see their desperation and the fear in their eyes – but also the futility of their efforts. Kay barged through them and knelt beside Arthur. He had lived close to a river all his life, and understood better than any of them what had to be done. There was anger in his voice as he ordered, "Give me room! Turn him onto his back!"

They did what he asked and none of them asked why – Kay's actions seemed at the very least to give some small hope that someone at last knew what to do, and they were willing to take that scrap of hope. Kay brought his fist forcibly down onto Arthur's chest, over his heart - but still no response. The only explanation he gave to the others, with deep emotion in his voice, was the words, "This sometimes brings them back…" He brought his fist down again, harder this time – still no response. And he began to shout at Arthur's motionless form, again with deep emotion and tears: "Don't be such a useless idiot!" His fist came down again. "I had to teach you how to plough…. " Again his fist thumped down onto Arthur's chest – still nothing. "….. SURELY EVEN YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO BREATHE!" And as the word "breathe" came from his lips, his fist once again came crashing down - but this time Arthur's back suddenly arched as he drew in a huge breath and immediately started coughing and choking, as his body's desperate desire for air fought against the equally strong desire of his lungs to rid themselves of water. As he pulled himself up onto an elbow, so that he could cough downwards, Gwen was immediately down on her knees beside him. He glanced up at her, and she saw in his eyes the one thing she had longed to see – recognition.

Gwen flung her arms around him, and when he was able, he reciprocated, and as he continued to gasp and cough, she soothed him, stroking his still soaking head and gradually calming him. Merlin, the knights and Kay all stood and drew back slightly, to give them space. But that was not the only reason they drew back: all of them were still deeply shaken by what had happened, and now that the frantic efforts to revive Arthur were over, all of them apart from Kay felt the sense of betrayal and guilt creeping back into their hearts.

~~~ o ~~~

Eventually, the coughing and gasping subsided, but Gwen didn't let go of Arthur immediately. She had missed him so badly in the two months that had passed, and now that he once again knew the love that they shared, she simply wanted to hold him close – and he was more than happy to oblige. And when Arthur finally rose to his feet, composed and at ease once again, he was very definitely back to his old self – which is more than could be said for his companions, who stood together in silence a little way off, with Kay standing slightly awkwardly apart from them all.

As Guinevere continued to sit on the bank of the river, watching them all, Arthur strode over to the others, speaking in a loud - but good humoured – voice, as he did: "So whose hare-brained idea was it to drown me?!"

There was a pause as Arthur looked at each of his men, none of whom would meet his gaze. "Come on…!"

Eventually Merlin, looking slightly apprehensive, answered his master's question: "It was me."

Arthur responded with the familiar mock surprise in his voice that he so often used when speaking to his servant: "Merlin! I never would have guessed!" And with a jokiness in his voice, he continued as he drew closer to the young warlock, "Oh, and look! You're the only one who's completely dry! We wouldn't want you to miss out, would we?"

And with that Arthur swiftly bent down and had Merlin over his shoulder in an instant. He lifted him off the ground, and as he started to walk towards the river, Merlin began to cry out in protest: "Arthur, no! We didn't drown you! We only almost drowned you….."

"Oh, only _almost drowned_ me – that's so much better!" And as Arthur began to wade out into the river, he shouted out to the others with a grin on his face, "The great thing is, I now remember just how much fun it is doing this sort of thing!"

Merlin made one last protest before the inevitable: "Arthur, don't!" at which point Arthur did, dumping Merlin off his shoulder into the river. The prince stood smiling down at him as he surfaced, and offered him a hand and pulled him up. Merlin gave him a wry grin back, and Arthur just smiled and added with sincerity: "Thank you… just don't do it again!"

Arthur clapped his arm round Merlin's now soaking shoulders and the two of them turned to walk back, smiling, to the shore. The way the knights were standing, however, wasn't lost on Arthur. Despite his good-natured exchange with Merlin, they were still unsure of themselves, and – more to the point – unsure of how their prince would react to their actions. But the prince understood perfectly what was on their minds, and when he began to address them as he reached them, there was kindness in his voice.

"Judging by the looks on your faces, you didn't enjoy that any more than I did. It can't have been easy for any of you, and I thank you for having the courage to do what was needed. There is no shame or dishonour in what you did – be at peace."

And with that, the knights visibly relaxed and began to smile.

Lancelot spoke for them all: "It's good to have you back, sire."

"It's good to be back!"

Having dealt with his knights, Arthur began to look for Kay, and saw him standing a little way off. As their eyes met, Kay immediately turned and started walking away. Arthur sighed deeply, and quickly instructed the knights and Merlin, "Wait here….." before he started running over to catch up with the young man who had become so dear to him. Kay had seen the change in Arthur immediately – the unmistakable air of authority in his voice, and the confident way he now bore himself. And he knew that he was about to lose him.

Arthur called out after him, "Kay, wait!"

The younger man turned round to face him, and said with something approaching hostility in his voice: "You'll be leaving now, won't you, now that you don't need us any more?"

"Kay, it's not like that!"

"Isn't it?" And without waiting for an answer, Kay turned and started walking away again.

Arthur implored him: "Kay…"

But without turning around, Kay said as he continued walking, "Just leave me be….."

Arthur stood where he was and sighed deeply again. He knew that for Kay it was beginning to feel like losing a brother all over again. Arthur looked back to the knights, back at Kay, and then finally decided to let him be, and turned to walk back slowly to his old friends.

_**Another Author's Note:**_

_**Medieval CPR? Why not?! Someone had to invent it!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's note**_

_**Apologies for the long delay – Christmas again! Hope you enjoy the last chapter**_

Chapter 13

Helma threw the feed down on to ground for the chickens, some of which cautiously approached the grains in the dirt before pecking them up hungrily. Others of the chickens were more hesitant whilst Tilly was still in the vicinity, as she had a habit of suddenly developing a desire to pick one of them up, which inevitably led to her madly chasing a somewhat distressed bird around until it could make good its escape from the over-enthusiastic young girl. Edric sat nearby on a stool outside their house, his head down as he worked on putting a new binding on the handle of one of his spades. And so it was Helma who first spotted Arthur as he strode back into the village, with Gwen at his side, and his knights and Merlin behind him – and she could immediately see the change in him. There was something in the way he held himself and the way that he walked – he wasn't so much walking ahead of the others as leading them. She turned to Edric and he could immediately hear the note of excitement in her voice as she said his name: "Edric! Look! I think a prince has just walked into the village!"

And as Edric stopped what he was doing and looked up, seeing in Arthur exactly the same change that his wife had seen, Tilly – who had also spotted him – began running excitedly towards him. As she reached him, however, she suddenly stopped and stared up at him with a look of curiosity, and exclaimed, "You're different!"

Arthur was by this time, largely due to force of habit, crouching down to be on her level. He raised his eyebrows at her as he asked, "Different good or different bad?"

Tilly paused to think about his question for a few moments, before exclaiming "Different wet…. And different happy!"

Arthur smiled and then looked at her mischievously: "And would you like to be _different wet_ as well?" And with that, the still-soaking prince reached out his arms to her, causing her to scream with delight and to turn to run from him. But Arthur had his arms round her in a couple of strides and he lifted her up, as usual, into her arms, with her giggling uncontrollably.

It was at this point that Arthur, however, became very self-conscious. He had reverted, on seeing Tilly, to his normal behaviour as 'William', but as she squirmed happily in his arms, he suddenly became acutely aware of his knights walking behind him, and knew without looking the expressions that they would have on their faces. He reddened slightly and as he glanced around he caught the expected grins on their faces. "What?!"

They all continued grinning at him, as Lancelot answered casually, "Nothing, sire!"

Gwaine added, "Didn't say a word….."

Arthur turned to face forwards again, with an expression that showed that he was determined to ignore them. He continued walking towards the house carrying Tilly, who as she studied Arthur's companions asked him innocently, "Why are the nice men laughing?"

"Because they're idiots, Tilly."

Gwen was smiling, however, and looked over at Arthur with deep affection. She slipped her arm around one of his, and leaned her head against him as they walked together: "Take no notice of them, Arthur - I like it!" And Arthur smiled, thinking of how much he longed to have her as his wife. But Gwen was far beyond that in her mind, and was beginning to image Arthur as the father of their children, and she was filled with a happy anticipation and longing for the time when the deepest desires of both of their hearts would finally find fulfilment.

Gwaine, however, just grinned again at the couple, and directed a one-word question towards Elyan in a low voice that neither Arthur nor Gwen would hear: "Broody?"

"Definitely!"

Gwaine's next comment was spoken deliberately louder, so that the couple could hear it: "_Uncle Elyan_ - I think that has a nice ring to it…..!" which earned from Arthur the words, "Shut up, Gwaine!" But as Arthur stayed facing forwards as he gave his response, Gwen could see there was still a smile on his face.

Arthur stopped and put Tilly down as he reached Edric and Helma, who were by this time both standing waiting for him. There was a moment's pause as Edric looked into Arthur's eyes: "You remember?"

"Everything! Let's just say…." - Arthur took a swift look around at the knights - "… that they jogged my memory."

Edric and Helma both smiled warmly at the young man who had become so dear to them, and neither questioned why he was soaking wet – as were his companions.

Arthur continued, "I will need to leave soon before the day is too far gone. My father is a hard and stubborn man " - he smiled at this point – "although he is maybe not the ogre his reputation would have you think. But he has not been well and he needs me. I fear that he has grieved me too long already, and I would not want him to face another dawn without me. And I am conscious of the fact that we are still in Odin's territory, and eight of us are slightly more conspicuous than one. I will need to change back into the clothes I came in, which are also….." – he smiled again – "….mercifully dry. Maybe you would give me a little while to do that and then join me inside – there are things I would like to say."

They both nodded in agreement, but as Arthur turned back to the knights, he caught sight of Kay sitting under the oak tree, his head down. Even as he addressed his men, "If you could get the horses ready…," he glanced over at Kay again, a glance that was not lost on Merlin.

As the knights, Merlin and Gwen turned to leave to begin preparations for their journey back to Camelot, Arthur paused and then called his servant back: "Merlin!" He then motioned for them to walk away from the others, but before he could speak, Merlin looked at him and asked in the best matter-of-fact tone that he could muster, "Are you going to find leaving difficult?"

Arthur scoffed at his servant, "Don't be ridiculous Merlin, why should I?" but then found he had a lump in his throat and had to look away, although not before Merlin had caught the expression on his face. Merlin gave a little sigh - _he really __was__ back to his old self, unable or unwilling to acknowledge or express the feelings that were churning away just beneath the surface of the royal persona that he so often felt he had to keep up._

And Merlin launched into one of the rapid monologues that he was so fond of, barely stopping to breath as the words tumbled out: "Oh, I don't know, sire, it's just that it looked to me as if you might have become very fond of the family here, because it certainly looked as if Edric and the others have become very attached to you, which is a bit of a mystery given how you usually treat others, although I think maybe you forgot about being arrogant whilst you were here, but it does certainly look as if you really do care about the family, although I admit that I could be mistaken, but then again I really don't think I'm wrong about this because I saw the way you were looking at them, and if it were me, which it's clearly not, because it's you and so it could be different, then I could see myself getting…"

"Merlin…."

"…. very attached and close to people that I had lived with for the best part of….."

"MERLIN!" His servant finally came to an abrupt halt as Arthur finally conceded, "Alright, you've made your point," before looking away again, determined not to let Merlin see the emotion that was threatening to get the better of him.

"So, you'd like me to find another horse?"

Arthur turned back and stared at his servant dumbfounded, and although he opened his mouth to speak, he was lost for words for a moment. When he did finally find the words to say, there was a tone of mystification in his voice, "Merlin! How is it that you already know what I'm thinking?!"

Merlin grinned, "It's my job, sire – well, that and constantly bailing you out of trouble!"

Arthur continued to look at him in disbelief.

"…and I think there's something still wrong with your memory, sire. This is the point where you say, _Shut up, Merlin!"_

Arthur finally smiled, "Not this time!"

"Well, that's a first….."

"And probably a last." They were both grinning by this point, and Arthur continued, "If you take Gwaine and both go by horse to Berlund, you should be able to buy a half-decent horse from there, and be back within the hour. Do you have enough money between you for that?"

"Oh, it's fine, I've got loads of money."

Arthur stared at him with a questioning look, and so Merlin obliged with an explanation of sorts, "I borrowed quite a lot before we left."

"Who from?"

"You! You really shouldn't be leaving all that gold under your bed, my lord – you never know who might take it!"

Arthur paused and shook his head again, smiling: "How on earth could I ever have forgotten you?"

"Beats me!"

They both turned to go their separate ways, but suddenly Arthur wheeled round, as he remembered something: "And Merlin…."

Merlin turned back to face him, "Hmmm?"

"Speaking of beds…" A look of repugnance came to Arthur's face, and with suitable hand gestures the prince continued, "…. That whole….. checking…. tucking in… thing…. Just….. don't….. Ever!"

Merlin nodded seriously, but as soon as his face was turned the other way, there was a big grin on it.

~~~ o ~~~

Arthur had just tightened his belt over his tunic as he finished dressing when there was a light tap on the door.

"Come in….."

Edric and Helma both lowered their heads slightly as they always had to, to come in through the small door into the one room of their humble dwelling. Arthur stood watching them, but then had to stare down at the ground for a few moments, to compose himself before looking up again as they reached him. He held their gaze for a few moments, and then smiled. "I do not have the words to thank both of you for your kindness to me. You took me into your home and have cared for me like one of your own, and I know that I would not be alive today if it hadn't have been for your open door and your open hearts. I am deeply indebted to you both, and don't know how I can ever repay you."

Edric, who was also smiling warmly by this time, answered simply, "Arthur - you already have."

Helma laid her hand gently on the young man's arm: "It's been our pleasure and delight, Arthur, to have you as part of our family for these weeks. We will miss you so much."

Suddenly, on impulse, Arthur blurted out, "Come to Camelot! Come and live under my protection. I have land, good land, that you could farm. You would want for nothing, and be free from Odin's grasp. Please come!"

Edric gave a little sigh, understanding perfectly the goodbye that Arthur didn't want to have to say. "Arthur, that is kind and generous of you, and a great part of me longs to accept your gracious offer, but our family has spent many generations here, and our little community needs us."

A look of sadness and disappointment came to Arthur's face, and once more he fixed his gaze on the dirt floor of the little house, but when Edric continued there was both kindness and humour in his voice: "And besides, we wouldn't all that excellent ploughing and sowing that you've done to go to waste…"

The remark was sufficient to bring a little smile back to Arthur's face, and he raised his head to look at them again with huge affection. "I've learned much here, and I pray that when I go back to being Prince of Camelot, I will never forget what it has been like to live the sort of life that most of my people lead. You will come to visit, though?"

Helma laughed: "You have left Tilly's head filled with princesses and pretty dresses – I think we are soon to be constantly plagued by her asking, not only to see you, but also Guinevere again!"

Arthur's smile widened at the mention of Guinevere - the one person who, more than any other, made Camelot so dear to his heart. He then nodded his head and laughed as he responded to Helma's comment: "I'm sure Guinevere would be absolutely delighted to hold her hand and show her around Camelot."

"And will there be a wedding soon?" Helma raised her eyebrows playfully at Arthur, causing him to suddenly look rather coy and her husband to chide her in a good-natured fashion.

"Hush, wife, you are making the young prince blush!"

They all laughed again, and Edric then stood looking steadily at Arthur for a few moments before continuing: "And who knows, Arthur - our lands are changing….. Nothing stays the same forever. Maybe we will yet one day find ourselves under your rule."

The two men held each other's gaze and then both reached out and shook the other's hand warmly, smiling and nodding to one another as they did so.

"Edric…."

"Your highness."

Arthur then turned towards Helma, and there was a moment's awkwardness as they faced each other, unsure of how to act. But then Helma smiled broadly, abandoned any sense of what was proper behaviour towards a prince, and kissed him on the cheek before embracing him. Arthur gladly returned the embrace, and they held each other tightly for several moments, expressing the unspoken understanding that she had been to him the mother he had never had. As they finally pulled away from each other, Helma sighed and said "Kay will miss you terribly – you have become like a brother to him."

Arthur smiled ruefully, "And he to me…. And I fear that I am now causing him to feel as if he is losing a brother all over again."

Edric shrugged his shoulders, "He will get over it in time."

Arthur paused as he took the courage to finally voice the idea that had come to him earlier: "But I would like to be bold, and ask one last thing of you, if you are able…."

~~~ o ~~~

The horses had finally been prepared, and packed with provisions for the journey home given by the villagers. They may have been poor by Camelot's standards, but the hospitality of the people of Esentor was generous and heart-felt. The small community had not only also taken Arthur to their hearts in the time he had been there, but they were by this time also fully aware of his true identity, and were eager to bestow upon him and his companions a parting blessing of sustenance for their journey back to Camelot. The knights and Merlin were all mounted, but Arthur and Gwen remained standing for the final farewells – but there was also a third rider-less horse whose reins Merlin held in his hands. Kay had remained seated by the oak all through the time that preparations were being made for the departure of the party from Camelot, hating the approach of the hour that he knew must inevitably come.

As Arthur and the others waited, Edric went over to his son to bring him back to the group, and as he did so, Arthur and Gwen both crouched down to say goodbye to Tilly, who was standing next to Helma and holding on to her mother's skirts.

Gwen smiled at the forlorn little face in front of her, "You will see us again, Tilly," and as Tilly nodded sadly, Gwen wrapped her in a warm embrace. It was then Arthur's turn to enfold her in a massive hug, and he kissed her affectionately on the top of her head as he did so. Helma gathered Tilly up into her arms as Arthur and Gwen both stood up again and went over to their horses. As Arthur helped Gwen up onto her white horse, she whispered to him, "If I make her a princess dress, do you think we could somehow get it back to her here?"

Arthur just smiled warmly, leant in to Gwen, and whispered back to her, "I love you."

The prince then stood waiting as Edric returned with Kay. The younger man glanced up at Arthur, but quickly looked down at the ground again as he and Edric stopped in front of the prince.

Arthur laid his hand on his friend's shoulder, as he began: "Kay, I want to thank you. You saved my life today, and I am in your debt not only because of that, but because of the kindness you have shown me here. But I would at least like to try to give something to you in return. So….. " - he paused, and as he did so, a little smile came to his face – "…are you coming?"

Kay suddenly looked up in response to Arthur's question, an expression of confusion and incomprehension on his face. He looked at Arthur who by this time was grinning back at him, and then looked over at the knights, who were also smiling at him. He then saw the empty horse and the penny finally dropped. A look of utter delight, excitement and wonder came to his face as he looked back at Arthur as the prince continued: "I've seen you at work, Kay – you're strong and your hands are skilful, and you have a heart that is good and true….. and noble. You have taught me many things, and I would now like to teach you to be a knight of Camelot."

Kay's expression, if it was possible, became even more delighted and over-awed and he could scarcely believe his ears as Arthur went on. "Most of my knights here have had, like you, humble beginnings, but I know that you can – and will - become like them. Join us, Kay!"

Kay looked once again at the party from Camelot who were all still smiling back at him and giving him encouraging nods. But his expression suddenly faded, and he hesitated as he looked over at his mother and father.

"But…. I'm needed here…."

Edric and Helma, however, were also both smiling back at him and his father assured him, "We'll manage fine! Especially as now there'll be two less ravenous mouths to feed!"

Helma held out a bundle of Kay's belongings to him, "Here, I've already packed up your things….."

Kay was quite simply overwhelmed by the utterly unexpected turn of events, which had suddenly transformed a dreaded farewell into an adventure beyond his wildest dreams. He went over to his mother first and she hugged him and kissed him on his cheek - tearful but happy – before going over to tie his bundle on the horse for him. Kay then bent down, gave Tilly another hug and her head a little rub of affection. Last of all, Edric embraced his son and kissed him on the forehead. "Go, son – I know you will make us proud."

Kay mounted the horse that had been bought by the prince for him, with the look of delight still on his face. He turned to Arthur, his eyes shining, "Thank you!" but then was struck by a sudden thought: "So what do I call you now?"

Merlin had just enough time to open his mouth, but not enough time to share any of his suggestions before Arthur interjected, "Shut up, Merlin!"

Merlin grinned as Arthur answered Kay, "Well probably anything except William….."

They all laughed, and the prince added, "_Arthur_ will do just fine!"

Arthur wheeled his horse around and then took one last look at Edric, Helma and Tilly, nodding to them. Edric nodded back: "Until we meet again, Arthur Pendragon."

And Arthur smiled back at the little family, "Until we meet again…..," and with that, they all turned their horses around to start the journey home.

_**Author's longer note (WARNING - slight spoilers for the end of Series 5)**_

_**Hoped you liked the story – please leave a review if you have time.**_

_**Well, here we are – post 5.13. I, for one, thought it was a great – if heart-breaking – ending, and could discuss it for hours. If anyone wants a happier ending, however, you could try "The End of the Beginning"(if you haven't read it already) which I wrote early on in Series 5 to express how I would have loved it all to end. I was gratified to see a few elements in it which DID actually happen in 5.13. Anyway, now that it's all over, please - fellow-writers - keep on writing to fill the gap there will now be! I have two scripts still to be turned into stories plus one fairly well fleshed out new idea (set between series 4 and 5) to be written, and maybe some time in the future I would LOVE to write the story that would go with 5.13, filling in some of the gaps that I felt that there were in an otherwise brilliant, heart-rending ending.**_

_**And am now having to add the note that I forgot to add when I first posted this chapter (I got carried away with the above comments on 5.13!). This story was, of course, an attempt to give a nod to the traditional version of the legend, where Arthur grows up in obscurity, oblivious of his true identity. And his "brother" as he grows up is, of course, Kay who also becomes one of his knights. If this was in the series, Kay would (of course) have had to become one of Arthur's inner circle of knights, so the story does go slightly AU at the end. But I hope it does still manage to sit alongside the existing BBC Merlin as "an episode that got left out"!**_


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